Just A Dream
by stormy.grace
Summary: Dean and Meredith have settled in to their new life together, but when Meredith goes missing can Dean save her before it's too late? Part three of my Deredith series. You might want to go back and read "The Preacher's Daughter" and "You Save Me" before you start this one if you haven't already.
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry it took me so long to start posting this one, y'all! I've just been in a weird mood lately and haven't felt like it. I haven't even felt much like writing at all the last couple of days, but I have made some progress on the next story in this series, so hopefully I can keep up regular posting with this one and get the next one finished and up soon. P.S. I didn't do extremely exstensive medical research, and I've never personally had any of Dean's injuries, so those particular details may be off, but they're not really a pivital part of the story so I didn't worry about it too much. Y'all don't mind, right? Anyway, here it is. Enjoy! ~SG**

Chapter 1

"So," Meredith said as she handed Dean an open bottle of beer and sat down beside him after getting him settled on the couch. "How's it feel to be home?"

Dean took the bottle with his good hand, the one that wasn't in a cast and a sling, and tried to ignore the single crutch leaning against the couch on his other side. His injured foot was propped up on the coffee table with a throw pillow under it, and he winced a little at the pain as he shifted ever so slightly into a more comfortable position.

Once he was as comfortable as he was going to get he took a swig from the bottle and considered her question. He could tell by the sound of her voice that she loved asking it, that she loved the idea that her home was his home now too.

Once Sam and Dean had both been cleared to leave the hospital Dean had paid a visit to Crowley's room while Sam had helped Meredith and Claire sneak Cas out. Despite the human blood Rowena had been shooting him up with Crowley was still a demon, though she had poisoned him the same as she had poisoned Cas and he wasn't healing properly. He was also jonesing for a hit since his mother had gotten him hooked again, and Dean used that to his advantage, promising a shot of his own blood in exchange for a deal. Crowley would go back to running Hell because Sam and Dean didn't want to think about what might happen if someone else took over, but he was to keep his demons in line. If any of them went rogue or started causing even the least amount of trouble or welshing on deals, one or both of the Winchesters would gladly take them out. The same went for Crowley. The King of Hell had agreed fairly quickly, willing to agree to anything at that point for a taste of human blood.

Sam had come back after getting Cas smuggled into the backseat of Meredith's Camaro so that the girls could get him settled at the motel, and they had worked out all the details of the deal, going over each line carefully to make sure there was no loophole Crowley could slip through before anyone signed their name to the long scroll.

After getting Crowley out of the hospital and set up with a private nurse that had been promised a large sum of money to keep her mouth shut, the Winchesters, Meredith, Cas, and Claire spent a few more days at the motel in Staten Island to give Cas some time to heal a little more, and then they had all piled into the Camaro and driven back to the bunker. The plan was for Claire and Cas to stay there until Cas was fully recouperated. Dean was headed back to Bristol Ridge, opting to ride along with Meredith while Sam followed in the Impala. Sam was spending the night with Dean and Meredith and then flying back to Kansas in the morning to help Claire take care of Cas. Dean was stayng put. For now at least.

They all knew there was still a chance that this wouldn't work out, and Meredith would wake up one morning alone in her bed after having said a tearful and heartbreaking goodbye the night before. Dean knew he couldn't leave her without saying goodbye, but for now he had no intentions of going anywhere. Partly because he physically couldn't without some help, and partly because what Meredith had just said was true. This, here with her, was his home now.

He smiled, unable to stop himself even if he had wanted to, and spoke softly because his nearly crushed trachea was still on the mend. "Good. _Really_ good."

Meredith smiled as well and tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow as she rested her head on his good shoulder. She turned the TV on and they found an old black and white movie to watch. Dean kissed the top of her head, and thought that maybe, just maybe, this could last for a while.

 _Six months later..._

Six months. With the exception of the forty years he had spent in Hell, his year with Ben and Lisa, and his year in Purgatory, it was the longest amount of time Dean had ever spent in one place. But this was different than any of those times. This felt like it might have the possibility of permanence. This felt right.

He had been happy with Ben and Lisa, had loved them even, but this was...more. What he felt for Meredith was deeper, and, for some reason he felt like he fit in here better than he ever had in the world he had lived in with Ben and Lisa, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

Instead of suburban neighborhood barbecues he was dragged out to celebratory events that spanned the entire town, sometimes the entire county, but it was still the same general idea. Friends and neighbors getting together around grills and pools, and kids running around playing while the adults chatted and drank. Throw in a few fireworks and craft shows here and there, and you had a general idea of the Bristol Ridge social scene. With Ben and Lisa he had taken a job in construction, which hadn't really felt like the right fit, but was better than nothing, and here he had been completely out of work for a few months while his injuries had healed. Now he had a job, provided somewhat grudgingly by Jake, as a mechanic at Bristol Automotive. It was a good fit, but he wasn't sure he was really happy with it. Especially since he and Jake still seemed to rub each other the wrong way on a fairly frequent basis. Was it that they simply had too much in common, or was it that they had Meredith in common?

Along with the town events and his new job he had also been domesticated once more, which he really didn't mind. He helped Meredith around the house as much as he could, more so now that he didn't need her to help him help her, and they had fallen into a nearly perfect synchronicity, almost like they were meant to be together. He wasn't sure he believed in the whole soul mate thing, even after that whole weird Cupid encounter, but it definitely seemed as though they had been made for each other. Of course, there were some arguments and things they had been forced to agree to disagree about, but overall things were good, and it was so much easier with Meredith than it had been with Lisa. Maybe because there wasn't a kid involved.

Dean hadn't had any problems stepping up and being the man in Ben's life, but he had never felt completely comfortable with the entire dad role. Hanging out and teaching him how to work on cars had come easily, but the punishment part had been weird. He wasn't actually Ben's dad, or even his stepdad for that matter, and he had never been sure if he was supposed to be handling that side of things as well or if he should just leave it up to Lisa. With Meredith there was none of that because the only kids in their life didn't legally belong to her, so all he really had to do was be aware of whatever rules Jake and Kim and the Archers set for their children and stick to them.

 _Yeah_ , Dean thought as he shut off the water and pushed the shower curtain back. _I can see myself staying in this life._

As long as nothing forced him out.

Sam was doing just fine on his own, taking care of the occasional monster and being some kind of mix between Bobby and the Men of Letters, and everyone else seemed to be doing just fine as well. Cas had healed completely, and was working hard at his day job trying to keep Heaven in line while still visiting frequently, and continuing to be sort of a father figure to Claire. Jody hadn't had any supernatural trouble in a long time, and both Alex and Claire were in college now. Claire was even managing to juggle school with the occasional weekend hunt, usually only venturing into the supernatural world if Sam needed a hand on a case. And Crowley was holding up his end of the deal he had made with the Winchesters. There had been a few incidents that had needed Sam's attention, but overall things seemed to be running smoothly, which frankly amazed Dean. There was no way it was going to last forever, but he was bound and determined to enjoy it while it did.

He had even heard from Garth a couple of months back, and was happy to hear that his weird little friend was doing just fine with his weird little werewolf family. They even had a kid now, which was why Garth had called.

By some miracle things were going well and life was good, and Dean couldn't help but smile as he got dressed. And his smile only grew wider when he walked out of the bedroom and almost collided with Meredith as she came out of the guest bathroom.

"What, you can't pee with me in the shower?" he teased.

"Sometimes a girl just likes a little privacy." she replied and headed toward the kitchen.

Dean followed her. "See, that just makes me want to know exactly what you were doing in there, because it kind of sounds like something I might've been able to help with."

Of course he would make it about sex. "Who says I need any help?"

"Now, that just hurts my feelings." he said, pouting as she filled a reusable plastic bottle with sweet tea, which she preferred over coffee as her source of caffeine. "Do I need to step up my game? I mean, I know I'm a little rusty, but in my defense I _was_ recovering from nearly fatal wounds for about three months."

"Rusty is the last word I would use." she assured him, trying and failing to hide a smile. "Your game is just fine."

Dean grinned wickedly. "Wanna play?"

Meredith laughed. "No. I want to not be late for work."

"We've got time."

"Yeah, we've got time for you to drop me and the kids off at school."

Dean glanced at the clock on the stove and realized that she was right. They were cutting it a little close this morning. "In that case we should probably get going."

"Brilliant idea, my love." she agreed and moved toward the mudroom, grabbing her purse from the counter.

Dean, wanting another moment alone with her, grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, spinning her around to face him before pressing his lips to hers. "You know, if I had had a teacher that looked like you in high school I might've done better."

"Don't blame the teachers." she chided, slipping her arms around his neck. "You, Dean Winchester, are plenty smart. You could've done better if you had wanted to."

"Well, maybe if I had a teacher that looked like you I would've wanted to." he said, closing his arms around her waist. "Nothing impresses a teacher like a smart kid."

"Actually," she corrected, stopping him as he moved in for another kiss. "I'm not all that impressed by smart kids. Don't get me wrong. Smart kids are great, but what I really love to see is when a kid that maybe isn't catching on so quickly tries their hardest to do the best they can."

"So, you prefer the kids like me." Dean surmised. "The ones that aren't so naturally gifted in school like Sam was, but that try harder than I did."

"I like all of my students." she argued. "But yes. I do love to see a kid try. Besides, book smarts are great and all, but they're not everything. I'll take a man with common sense and street smarts over a Ph. D. any day."

"And here I thought you only liked me for my looks." Dean joked. "Turns out you think I'm smart too."

"I think you're very smart." she agreed, and smiled playfully. "But no one's ever gonna hear me complaining about the way you look."

Dean smiled and ended the conversation with another kiss. "And I happen to know for a fact tht you don't like _all_ of your students." he added before letting her go.

"Some kids are just creepy." she said in her own defense.

When they got outside they found Dylan and Rowan waiting by the Impala. Dylan was poking at Rowan and she was twisting and squirming, trying desperately to escape him, and squeaking every time his finger dug into her side.

"Dylan!" she whined. "Stop it!"

"In the car!" Meredith called above Rowan's noisy protests, bringing an end to Dylan's attacks.

"Hey, Dean," Dylan said, looking hopeful. "Can I drive?"

"Nope." Dean replied, fighting hard against the urge to cave as the kid's face fell. He knew better.

"It's been a month." Dylan begged.

"It _hasn't_ been a month." Dean corrected. "You still have a week left."

Dylan tried again. "The accident wasn't even that bad. I barely even _tapped_ Mr. Winslow's car."

Dean didn't bite. "Tell that to the dent I had to take out of Baby's front fender, and your dad's bank account."

"You don't even like my dad." Dylan accused.

Dean didn't necessarily not like Jake, but it was true that they didn't get along all that well a lot of the time. Again, Dean wondered if it was because of Meredith.

Whatever the reason, he couldn't really argue with Dylan on that point, but he could still stand his ground on the driving because one had nothing to do with the other. "Your dad and I may not see eye to eye on every little thing, but we do agree on this. You weren't paying attention to the road because you were too busy texting, and you ran a stop sign and hit Mr. Winslow's car. You could've seriously hurt someone. Or killed someone. You were lucky, Dylan."

"But..."

"Your parents said no driving for a month, and I'm not bending on that." Dean said, cutting off whatever protest the boy had in mind. "Maybe next time you get behind the wheel you'll remember to pay attention to the road and not your phone. Get in the car."

He may not have felt completely comfortable punishing Ben, but this wasn't the first time he had laid down the law with a kid. He had done it a few times with Ben, and he had done it more than a few times with Sam. And with Claire. And with Krissy Chambers. He realized as he got in the car that he had been parenting other people's kids his whole life. Too bad Sam had been forced to shoot Emma, or maybe Dean could actually parent his own kid for a change, but he was pulled out of his thoughts a few moments later.

Meredith smiled in amusement at the look on Dean's face when he turned the radio on and found it set to a hip hop station. In a matter of seconds his expression went from surprise and confusion, to realization and mild annoyance, to an eye roll and a look shot in her direction that said: Really? Again?.

It was a game they had started playing in the last couple of months since he had been cleared by the doctor. They would sneak out to each other's car and either change the station to something that should never be playing in that particular vehicle (which was difficult for Dean because Meredith listened to nearly everything), mess with each other's presets (which Dean had never had in the Impala before his decision to settle down with Meredith), or turn the volume up so that the music blasted out of the speakers at deafening levels and made them glad that they didn't lived in a crowded subdivision with a lot of neighbors to disturb.

"Really?" he asked out loud, adding to the look he was giving her.

Meredith just smiled.

 **I really wish I could've included a flashback of Dean finding out about Dylan's accident, but sadly it didn't fit. Maybe I can post it as a quick one-shot accompiniment piece. Actually, I didn't even think to add it until just now so I really have no idea what happened, but who else would like to find out with me? ~SG**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Instead of parking, Dean simply pulled up to the curb outside the front building of the high school like anyone else dropping off their kids. Dylan got out without a word and disappeared into the school, and Rowan popped her head into the front of the car and thanked him for the ride with a kiss on the cheek. That made him smile, and he found himself telling her to have a good day like a normal parent even though he wasn't her parent. He wasn't even technically her uncle.

"Dylan'll get over it." Meredith assured him. "It may take years before he realizes you did the right thing, but he'll get over it. Probably by the end of the day. This weekend at the latest."

"That helps." Dean said dryly. It was Wednesday.

Meredith gave him a quick sympathetic look and kissed him goodbye. "Love you."

"Have a good day!" he called, still unaccustomed to actually telling people that he loved them. He preferred to _show_ that he loved them instead. So far she seemed to be okay with that.

%%%

Meredith's classroom was not in the Administration Building where Dean had dropped them off. She was in the English department, and this building was Social Studies, Arts, and Computers Sciences despite its name. Her room was in the Language Building behind this one, but she still had to sign in, and the main office _was_ in this building. So, having lost track of her niblings (not that it mattered), she pushed her way into the lobby and then the office, greeting the secretary with a smile and the proper responses to her usual questions, and then hurried off down the hallway and out the back door that led to the courtyard.

The chilly fall breeze blew a leaf into her face and she laughed as it stuck to her nose for a moment before continuing on its travels. The courtyard was practically empty since it was still rather early. The front doors had only just been unlocked, and after climbing the short staircase in the sidewalk Meredith was a little disappointed, but not surprised, to find that the janitor hadn't made it to to the Language Building with his keys yet.

With a sigh she huddled in the little alcove, seeking shelter from the wind, and waited, trying not to think about what she was technically hiding from Dean. She had only found out this morning, so she could claim that she hadn't had time to tell him even though she had had the perfect opportunity. He had asked about it directly without even realizing it, but she wasn't sure it was something she was happy about so she had avoided the subject altogether. It wasn't going to hurt anyone to keep it a secret for a little while, and if it went the way she knew it could it would be better if he never knew.

The janitor finally appeared and unlocked the door, letting her in. She thanked him and ducked inside the building, practically running to her room two doors down on the right.

So far she was the only person in the building, and once she had let herself into her room and turned on the light she shut the door and crossed the room to her desk, the heels of her boots clicking loudly on the speckled tile floor.

 _Positive_ , she thought as she sat down in her chair and turned her computer on. The test had been positive. She could take another. She could take five hundred more, but she knew it wasn't necessary. This wasn't the first time she had been down this road, and she knew the signs. She could take every pregnancy test in the world, and they would all tell her the same thing. She was pregnant.

It should be happy news, but with the way things had turned out the first two times she just wasn't sure what to think, and she wasn't surprised when she realized she was crying. She picked up her purse from its place in the floor and stuck her hand inside to dig for the pack of tissues she always carried with her, but she found something else instead. She pulled it out and saw that it was an envelope that hadn't been in her purse when she had left the house. Dean must have snuck it in before she got out of the car, and she couldn't help but smile.

Along with their radio pranks they had also started hiding silly gifts or notes for each other around the house. Dean had started it by leaving a note randomly tucked in her shoe one morning that simply said "Thank you.". She knew exactly what he was thanking her for ,though she had no idea why he had chosen her shoe as his preferred method of delivery, and she kept it, along with all the other notes, in a shoe box on the shelf under her nightstand.

But this wasn't just a note. There was something else in the envelope, something small and solid. Some kind of coin maybe? She dumped it out in the palm of her hand and saw that it was a small charm with the same symbol Dean had tattooed on his chest. She knew what it was instantly, and felt a fresh wave of tears threaten to spill over. Dean had given her an anti-possession charm to put on the charm bracelet she always wore. Her dad had given it to her just before he had died, and it only had a few charms on it. Each one was special, and this one certainly qualified.

She pulled the note out of the envelope and laughed at the single sentence he had written on the little slip of paper. _I'm not kissing anymore damn demons._

Knowing him as well as she did she figured that translated roughly to "I love you, and I want to keep you safe."

She quickly attached it to her bracelet and snapped a picture with her phone, sending it to him along with a message that read "I don't want you kissing anyone that's not me. Thank you, my love!"

%%%

 _"Dean, why are you mad at me?" Meredith demanded as Dean shrugged off her help and used his crutch to hobble the short distance from the car to the bunker's front door._

 _He didn't answer, simply pulled the door open and struggled his way through it, stopping when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to get down the stairs on his own._

 _"Dean." Meredith's voice called out from behind him._

 _Sam and Claire had already gotten Cas inside and down the stairs, and had taken him off to a room to get him settled, giving Meredith the perfect opportunity to confront Dean about the attitude he had had toward her ever since that first day after she and Claire had swooped in and come to his rescue. He didn't want to talk about it because he was afraid it might start a fight, and he didn't want either of them to say something in the heat of the moment that they might regret, but now he was literally trapped. He couldn't get back outside because she was blocking the door, and he couldn't get downstairs to run away because he literally couldn't get down the stairs or run away._

 _"Why are you mad at me?" she demanded again, clearly determined to get some kind of answer out of him. When he still didn't answer, simply stood there at the top of the stairs with his back to her she got mad, slamming the door to show it. "Damn it, Dean! Talk to me!"_

 _"Help me downstairs." he said, trying to remain calm. This wasn't a fight he wanted to have, but it seemed like it was a fight she wasn't going to let go._

 _"Why are you mad at me?"_

 _"Help me down the damn stairs, Mere, and I'll tell you why I'm mad at you!" he shouted despite his injuries, still facing away from her because it took too much energy to turn around. "Even though you can probably figure it out all by yourself."_

 _She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and moved into position beside him, taking the crutch under his good arm and leaning it against the wall as he awkwardly put his arm around her and allowed her to take most of his weight._

 _He had sprained his right ankle and dislocated his left shoulder. His left forearm was broken and encased in a cast and a sling, and it was a bit of an awkward struggle to get him down the stairs, but Sam came back before they had even made it halfway and took over, easily getting Dean the rest of the way down and settled at the big table with the map on it._

 _"Thanks, Sammy." Dean said. "Can we get a little privacy?"_

 _Sam ducked out of the room, leaving them alone once again, and Meredith looked down at Dean expectantly. "Well?"_

 _"You really don't know?" he asked, not buying that for a second. She was too smart to not understand why he was upset._

 _"Oh, I know why you're mad at me." she said. "I just want to hear you say it."_

 _Dean scrunched up his face in confusion, as if he couldn't figure out why in the world she would want that. And he couldn't. "Why?"_

 _"Because, Dean, if you bottle it up and we don't talk about it it's just going to eat away at both of us until we can't stand each other anymore." she explained. "Do you want that?"_

 _"Of course I don't want that." he said._

 _"Okay then. Why are you mad at me?"_

 _"I'm not mad at you."_

 _"That's a lie!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Yes, you **are** mad at me, Dean. Just admit it. It's okay."_

 _"Sit down." he said, gesturing with his good hand to the nearest chair._

 _She took a deliberate step away from the chair, the table, and Dean. "Not until you say it."_

 _Dean sighed. This was ridiculous. "Please?" he requested, looking up at her._

 _She stayed where she was for a moment, looking at him. He looked tired. From the argument? The pain medication? His life? She wasn't sure, but at that moment he just looked completely drained and she simply couldn't bring herself to fight with him anymore. She knew she was right, that this was something they needed to get out in the open or it would just be one more thing that kept them up at night, but was there any reason why it had to be done in anger? No. So she sat and gave him her hand when he reached for it._

 _He was quiet for a long time, just sitting there looking at their joined hands, and finally she prompted him to speak. "Dean?"_

 _He didn't look up at her, but he did speak. "I'm not mad at you, Mere, and before you start arguing with me again, please, just let me explain."_

 _"Okay." she agreed._

 _"I'm not mad at you." his eyes were still trained on her hand wrapped up inside his, resting on his knee. "I'm mad at myself."_

 _"Dean."_

 _"Let me explain." he repeated, cutting off whatever argument she had been about to give. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not happy that you didn't listen to me when I told you to stay out of it. Maybe a little because I'd probably be dead if you had, but that's not the point. The point is that you did something incredibly dangerous, Mere." He looked up at her now, his green eyes meeting her brown ones. "Walking into that house and taking on Rowena like that. That was dangerous for me and Sam, and we've been doing this our entire lives. You have no experience with this stuff. You could've...you could've gotten yourself killed, Mere. You and Claire got lucky._ _ **Really**_ _lucky. Sam and I didn't even know for certain that that stake would work. If it hadn't..."_

 _"You didn't really think I could go home not knowing if you were okay, did you?" she asked when he trailed off. "Dean, I hadn't heard from you, and when we couldn't find you, I thought...I was afraid you might be dead. I was scared, Dean."_

 _He squeezed her hand gently. "I know. I'm sorry."_

 _"Why are you mad at yourself?" she asked. "For scaring me?"_

 _"No. I'm mad at myself for dragging you into this mess." he said truthfully. "I never should've come back. I should've just gone out to California and spent some time on the beach. I knew better. I knew that something bad was gonna happen if I got involved in your life again."_

 _It was still difficult for him to talk due to his nearly crushed trachea and the bruises on his neck, but he as doing a lot better. Maybe because he had barely spoken to her since that first day at the hospital. It hadn't been that long, but he had had some time to heal. His voice was rough from lack of use though, and Meredith didn't want to make him talk anymore, but they had to finish this conversation. They didn't have a choice. This was way too important. They couldn't just let it slide._

 _This time she squeezed his hand. "Dean, I'm not the one that was just released from the hospital a few days ago. The only bad thing that happened to me was that you got hurt."_

 _"But it could've been you." he argued. "And it would've been my fault."_

 _She shook her head. "No. It wouldn't have been your fault._ _ **I**_ _chose to go looking for you._ _ **I**_ _chose to go into that house. If I had've gotten hurt it would've been on_ _ **me**_ _, not you."_

 _"But you wouldn't have been anywhere near that house if I hadn't shown up on your doorstep a few weeks ago."_

 _There were tears in her eyes as she tried to make him understand. "And I wouldn't be happy if you hadn't. Not really. Not the way I am." She rose from her seat and carefully moved to sit on his good knee, pulling her hand from his and placing it against his cheek. "Dean, I'm_ _ **glad**_ _that you showed up on my doorstep a few weeks ago. I'm happy._ _ **You**_ _make me happy, and I wouldn't trade a second of it. Yes, I could've gotten hurt in that house, but I didn't, and even if I had it wouldn't have been your fault. All of that is in the past now, and you've got to let it go and move on or you're never going to be able to heal from it. You can't save everyone, Dean. You shouldn't carry that wight on your shoulders."_

 _"It's my job to keep people safe." he said, reaching up to wrap his fingers around her wrist. "It's my life."_

 _"That's fine, but you have to take care of you too." she said. "You need to slow down for a little while. You know that, and I think you want it too or you wouldn't have come back. I want to help you, Dean, and I'll do everything I can, but you have to let me. Cas is going to be okay, Rowena's dead, and Crowley's not a problem. Everyone you care about is safe, and now it's time that you focused on yourself for a little while. Can you do that for me? Can you at least try?"_

 _He nodded, smiling a little as his thumb gently rubbed the soft skin of her wrist. "Yeah. I can try. For you."_

 _"Thank you." she said and leaned in to kiss him, careful not to jostle his injured limbs._

 _"Don't mind me." Sam said as he came back in. "I'm just going to get the rest of the bags out of the car. Pretend I'm not even here."_

 _They looked up as he passed through the room, amused, and then went back to kissing before he was even halfway up the stairs._

 _"I love you." she said when they finally broke apart, leaning her forehead against his._

 _Dean smiled. He opened his mouth to reply, knowing that "I love you too." wasn't what was going to come out, but he was a little surprised when he decided to go with "Okay.". He wasn't opposed to telling her that he loved her. Not really, because he did love her, but it wasn't something he ever said. Not even to Sam. He had said it that day in the hospital because he needed her to know, without a doubt, that he felt the same way about her that she did about him, but he couldn't bring his mouth to form the words again. For some reason, though he couldn't even begin to guess why, "Okay." had been what his brain had chosen as a substitute. It certainly didn't have anywhere near the same meaning, but Meredith didn't seem to mind. She knew what he meant._

%%%

Dean smiled at the memory as he pulled up outside Bristol Automotive and cut the engine. Ever since then "Okay." had been an acceptable form of "I love you", along with the other ways he found to say or show it.

Like the present he had left in her bag this morning. What better way to tell someone you loved them than by keeping them safe from being possessed?

As if on cue his phone announced that he had a text message, and he opened it to find that she had discovered the envelope containing the charm. He smiled as he read the short message she had sent with the picture. He liked that she called him "my love" even though it was one of those cutesy things he normally wouldn't like. Coming from her it was just...nice. She was the kind of woman that said things like that, and she didn't say them to just anyone, so he considered himself lucky.

He wondered if he was getting a little soft and mushy as he walked inside, but decided that it didn't really matter. Meredith was worth soft and mushy.

 **So, the school Meredith teaches at (which is likely named Bristol Ridge High) is actually based on the school I went to. And that whole "Okay" thing is directly from my life as well. After a particularly nasty fight between teenage me and my mom (no clue what it was about) it ended up becoming our little code for "I love you" because I refused to actually say it. In fact, I did say it once years later and she freaked out. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you again at some point tomorrow for another...hopefully. ~SG**

 **P.S. If you happen to be looking for a really awesome Supernatural/Gilmore Girls crossover check out "Deans, Dreams, and Troubadours" by CilmoreGirl95. I'm not friends with this particular author, but I am slightly obsessed with this story.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"How's Meredith?" Jake asked after they had exchanged a couple of generic greetings, as always.

Dean still wasn't sure what to make of Jake's seemingly constant curiosity about his ex-wife/sister-in-law's well-being. He wanted to chalk it up to the simply fact that they were family and Jake cared about her, but he just wasn't sure if that was the case or if it were something more. But Dean answered the same as he always did. "Good. How's Kim?"

"Good."

Dean nodded and both men got to work.

That's how it always was between them. Polite and civil, but not exactly friendly. And Dean understood why. Meredith and Kim knew both of them, and knew they could trust both of them. It was the same on the other end. The problem was that Dean and Jake were new to each other, and Dean found himself wondering if maybe they were both a little jealous. Jake had been married to Meredith, but Dean was the one she had really always wanted. She never said so, but they all knew it.

Even though the marriage was over, and Jake was happily married to Kim now, and they were all comfortable and happy with the new arrangement, Dean couldn't help but feel that Jake felt a little threatened by him. Which, of course, boosted his ego a little. But what did Jake have to worry about? His romantic relationship with Meredith was over, and Dean saw Kim as nothing more than a sister. So, why did Jake act like Dean was up to no good? They had a weird sort of sister wife thing going on, but Jake no longer had _any_ claim on Meredith, and she clearly had no interest in having him back.

Then again, hadn't Dean felt a little...okay, a lot jealous when he had found out that Lisa was seeing that doctor or whatever he was? When he had showed up at her door, thinking she was in trouble thanks to Ben's little lie, hadn't his heart practically shattered when he realized that she was about to walk out the door to go on a date?

Not that that situation was really anything like this one. Both Meredith and Jake had moved on and were happy. So, why was the guy such a dick to him?

Maybe he just didn't like the fact that Meredith had wanted Dean and he was just a substitute for the real thing. Now she had the real thing and she was happy, and Jake realized how stupid he had been to think a cheap imitation could really make her happy. Not that Jake wasn't a good guy. He just wasn't the right guy.

And it was that kind of boastful thinking that probably added to the friction between them.

"Oh well." Dean said to himself as he worked on a car belonging to a particularly flirtatious Bristol Ridge housewife by the name of Krista Miller. "Can't change the facts, so what are you gonna do about it?"

Live with it. That's what he was going to do about it. He didn't really have much of a choice if he wanted to stay with Meredith, and he desperately wanted to stay with Meredith. He needed her. End of story.

%%%

"What is that?" Dean asked when Meredith climbed into the Impala after school. Both kids had after school activities, so it was just the two of them and whatever was alive in that shoe box.

"It's a baby squirrel that fell out of its nest." she replied, pulling off the lid to reveal the frightened rodent. "Maddie rescued it from some upperclassmen that were poking at it with a stick in the courtyard."

"Little jerks." Dean muttered as he pulled away from the curb. "What are you planning on doing with it?"

She didn't miss the slightly wary note in his voice. "Take it to the vet first to make sure it's okay. It _did_ fall out of a tree and land on concrete, after all."

"And then?"

"Then I thought maybe we could keep it." she said hopefully.

"Uh-uh."

"Oh, come on, Dean." she begged. "I know you're not crazy about dogs and you're allergic to cats, but you know how much I love animals, and you know I can't just ignore this adorable little baby."

"No."

She pouted. "Why not?"

"Crowley calls me Squirrel." he admitted through gritted teeth. "I'm not about to make one a pet."

Meredith couldn't help but laugh at that, though she tried hard not to. "Seriously? The King of Hell has a pet name for you? Aw! Dean, that's so...weird. Why does he call you Squirrel?"

"I don't know." he said, a little annoyed. "Because I remind him of one for some reason? Because I'm not Moose? I never asked him why, and I don't plan to."

She managed to suppress a giggle because it was obvious that it was a touchy subject for him, but she wasn't about to give up on her little kit. "Well, regardless of your weird nicknames we can't just let it go. The mom won't have anything to do with it now that it's been handled by humans."

"So, we'll find someone else to give it a home."

She gently scooped the squirrel into her hand and held it up where he could see it. "How can you say no to this face?"

He looked at the squirrel. "No."

"Okay." she said, trying again. "How can you say no to _this_ face?"

He glanced over long enough to register her best puppy dog pout. "No."

"Dean."

"No."

"It's my house."

"Yeah, and you're not gonna throw me out over a homeless squirrel."

She didn't point out the fact that he would then be a homeless Squirrel as well. _That_ certainly wouldn't help her case any. "I might."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"Well, since you put it that way...no."

"With a cherry on top?"

"No."

"With me on top?"

"N-" He stumbled over that one. "Okay, that's not fair."

" _You're_ not being fair, Dean."

"Are you seriously trying to bribe me with sex though? That's low, Mere."

"I want this squirrel." she said, determinedly. "And you know you're argument is silly. So what if Crowley calls you Squirrel? This one needs a loving home. Just like you did."

Dean sighed. She wasn't going to give up until he gave in, and she was right. The poor squirrel didn't deserve to be kicked out just because of his unfortunate nickname. "Fine. We can keep the damn squirrel."

Meredith smiled triumphantly and leaned over to kiss his cheek as he parked outside the vet's office.

"Do I still get you on top?" he asked hopefully as they climbed out of the car.

"We'll see." she said over her shoulder.

"Tease."

%%%

"What should we name her?" Meredith asked as they walked into the kitchen.

The vet had deemed the squirrel to be perfectly fine other than being very shaken up, and had informed them that she was, in fact, a girl.

"She's your pet."

"She's _our_ pet."

Meredith took the lid off the box once she set it on the counter and Dean couldn't resist sticking his hand in to scratch the fuzzy little rodent lightly on top of her fuzzy little head with his index finger.

"See?" Meredith said, slipping her arm around him. "She's growing on you already."

"Shelby."

She looked up at him. "Why Shelby?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. First name that popped into my head. She kind of looks like a Shelby, doesn't she?"

Meredith looked at the squirrel and then smiled, leaning against Dean when he settled his arm around her shoulders. "Yeah. I guess she does." She stuck her hand in the box and the squirrel scampered inside, already understanding that she was safe there. Meredith drew her out and gave her a little kiss. "Hi Shelby. Welcome to your new home."

Dean couldn't help but smile. He tugged Meredith a little closer and kissed her temple. "You're gonna make a great mom someday."

 _Now would be a great time to tell him_ , she thought. But she couldn't. She wanted to, but she couldn't. Not yet. Not until she knew for sure it wasn't going to end in heartbreak. Again.

She couldn't tell him she was pregnant, but she also couldn't stop the tears that suddenly filled her eyes. She gently placed the squirrel back in her box, and practically ran from the room.

Dean put the lid back on the box and followed his suddenly distraught girlfriend into their bedroom, catching her by the elbow just inside the doorway. She tried to pull away, but he held firm.

"What's wrong, Mere?"

She shook her head and sniffed against the already falling tears. Unable to speak, she fell into his arms and clung to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face against his shoulder.

Dean, alarmed by her sudden mood swing, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair, holding her tight. He didn't know what to do or say because he didn't know what had brought this on. "What is it, baby?"

She shook her head. "I can't."

"Okay." he said, understanding that she wasn't ready to talk about whatever had her so upset. "You don't have to." He pressed his face into her hair and continued to hold her while she cried because he didn't know how to fix whatever was wrong.

 **I hope y'all enjoyed the bits of fluff I managed to squeeze into these first few chapters because it pretty much ends here. It also starts to get just a little confusing from here. At least it did for me, and I knew exactly what was going on. Right up until the villain decided to surprise me just a little, and that particular twist may be just a tad bit random, but I don't really care because this story worked out wonderfully and I kind of wish I could've played around with Mr. Bad Guy a little more. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm fairly certain at least one of you did, and I can't wait to read all of your reviews! ~SG**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Dean smiled when he pulled into the driveway on Friday afternoon. Meredith had driven herself and the kids to school this morning, and he knew she had some errands to run afterward, but it looked like she was already finished with them. He was greasy and sweaty and tired like he always was after a full day at work, but he knew she would still greet him with a hug and a kiss, and that's exactly what he wanted right now.

Jake got out of the Impala, tersely noting that he would see Dean at dinner later, and Dean nodded in response as he headed for the house. He stepped into the kitchen, expecting to find her cooking or cleaning something in preparation for the big family meal, but the room was empty. The lights were on, but none of the appliances were being used other than the freezer and the refrigerator, and it was clear that nothing had been or was being cooked.

Something wasn't right, and Dean was instantly alert as he moved toward the living room, silently pulling out his gun. He quickly and thoroughly checked every room and closet in the house. He checked the garage and the attic above it, and then searched the yard. Meredith wasn't anywhere.

 _Maybe she's over at Kim's_ , he thought as he stood in the back yard, trying not to panic. It certainly wasn't unusual for her to run across the street for any number of reasons, so he pulled out his phone and dialed Kim's number.

"Hey Dean." Kim chirped. "What's up?"

"Is your sister over there?" he asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

Kim wasn't fooled. "No. Why?" she sounded suspicious of his question, as if she could guess that something wasn't right simply because he was asking. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know." Dean admitted. "Maybe nothing. Her car's here, but she's not. I was hoping she was with you."

"So, you're saying she's missing?"

"Not necessarily." Dean said, very aware of the rising panic in Kim's voice. "Don't freak out just yet. All I'm saying is that I don't know where she is, but I don't want you to panic. I'm gonna try calling her, but you know I can handle whatever's going on."

"I know." Kim said. "Of course you can, but Dean..."

"I know. She's your sister, and you're worried. So am I, but there's no need to panic until we know something's actually wrong. She may have just taken a walk in the woods."

"I shouldn't mention this to anyone, right?"

"Not until we know for sure."

"What about Travis?"

"No." Dean said firmly at the mention of the sheriff's name. "We definitely don't need the police involved yet. This could be a little out of their league."

In other words, if Meredith had been taken then it was possible that it was by something that Dean was better suited to handle. Kim was already aware of that simply because she knew those things existed, but the fact that Dean seemed to think it was a possibility he needed to look into scared her. Knowing that her sister might have been kidnapped was bad enough, but she would much rather it be by a human that could simply be shot with a normal bullet and didn't require some kind of crazy weapon or elaborate ritual to kill.

"Dean..."

"I'll find her." Dean promised. "I'll call her first, and if I can't get a hold of her I'll call Travis and have him look into it. If the police don't turn up anything I'll call Sam, and we'll figure it out. Right now I need you to try to stay calm. I'm not gonna let anything happen to her if I can help it. Can you do that? Can you try to stay calm for me?"

"Yeah."

"Good girl." Dean said.

He got off the phone with Kim, knowing that even though she was probably sufficiently freaked out she wasn't going to do anything stupid, and tried calling Meredith three times before he searched the entire property again just to make sure she hadn't snuck back in without him noticing. She was still nowhere to be found and she hadn't answered her phone, so the next call he made was to Travis Archer.

Under any other circumstances a person would have to be missing for at least twenty-four hours for the police to start looking into the case, but Travis was a friend of the family and he knew Meredith well enough to know that she wouldn't just disappear like this without letting someone know she was going somewhere or leaving a note or something. So instead of following the rules he put a search team together and got on it immediately. By the time he arrived at Kim's house Dean had given her the go ahead to tell Jake and the kids that Meredith was missing because Travis would need to talk to all of them. The last time any of them had seen her was when she had brought the kids home from school, and Travis' deputies soon determined that no one else in town had seen her since about that time either.

"I know you said you wanted to wait and see what Travis turns up, but I think you should go ahead and call Sam." Kim whispered to Dean while Travis was talking to the rest of the family. "Just in case. That way he'll have a little more time to get here, and if it's not something in your line of work we can just tell everyone he decided to come out for a visit."

Dean nodded, understanding her concern. He was secretly glad she had made the suggestion because he had been thinking the same thing. None of the information they had so far pointed in a good direction, and Dean was growing less and less certain by the second that this wouldn't turn out to be something that required the special set of skills he and Sam possessed.

Part of him almost hoped it would. Monsters were so much easier to deal with than humans. Humans were crazy. At least if it was a monster they would know pretty much exactly what to expect once they figured out what they were dealing with. There was no telling what kind of demented torture a human might come up with, and as much as he hated hurting people, Dean wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger if his girl got hurt.

"Where are you going?" Jake asked, stepping in Dean's path as he was trying to get out the door.

Dean reminded himself as he shook Jake's hand off his arm that the man was probably just worried, but he couldn't help but feel like he was being accused of something. He would love to punch him right in the face for that, but he knew that wouldn't help any, so he reigned in his sudden flare of anger and offense and simply told the truth. "I'm going to call my brother and let him know what's going on."

"What's Sam gonna be able to do?" Jake asked.

 _Probably a lot more than Travis_ , Dean thought. "I never said I was expecting him to be able to do anything. I just thought he might want to know that his friend's gone missing, and maybe, since she's my girlfriend, I just needed to talk to my brother for a minute."

Dean was aware that he was starting to show that he didn't appreciate Jake's questions, but he didn't really care. Jake had no business asking them, and if anyone had more of a right to be worried about Meredith it was Dean. She was _his_ girlfriend, and it was _his_ job to keep her safe. He wouldn't have even called Travis except that he had no idea how long this was going to take and someone was bound to notice when she didn't show up at school on Monday. In all honestly the police were just part of the cover story. Human or not, it was his girlfriend out there somewhere, and Dean was going to be the one to save her. Again.

He got Sam's voicemail, which usually meant he was on a hunt, and left a message. Dean hoped he had just missed the call, because he could really use Sam's help on this one, and called Cas. Maybe he could use some kind of angel vision or something and see if he could figure out where she was.

"Dean." the angel's gruff voice said.

"Cas, hey." Dean replied, relieved that his friend had answered. If he hadn't he would've tried praying. "Are you too busy to help me out with something?"

"Of course not." Cas assured him. "What's wrong, Dean?"

"Meredith's missing. Looks like she was taken. The police are asking around, but no one's seen her since about four this afternoon, and I can't get Sam." Dean explained, trying to keep the rising level of fear out of his voice. Panicking wasn't going to help Meredith even though he was downright terrified that something had already killed her and all they would find was her body. But if he let himself think about that he was going to fall apart.

"Do you know what took her?" Cas asked, all business. He wasn't a hunter, but he sure sounded like one right now.

"No. Could be anything." Dean said. "Almost anything. No sulfur, so it's not a demon, and I'm pretty sure it's not any kind of spirit. No ectoplasm, no EMF. But it could be anything from...from a vamp or a shifter to an angel or a human for all I know."

"Well, I don't think it's an angel." Cas said. "But I'll check to make sure no one's unaccounted for. Is there anything else I can do?"

"I don't know. Can you do some sort of angel locator spell or something and track her down?" Dean asked hopefully.

"I wish I could."

"Okay. Well, count your angels, and I'm gonna call Crowley and have him make sure no one's gone missing downstairs just to be on the safe side. And then I guess I'll try calling Sam again."

"We can call Claire."

"No, I don't want to get her involved unless I have to." Dean declined. "She's doing really well with school and not getting totally sucked in to the hunter's life. And don't mention it to her either, because she'll just dive in anyway, and I don't want to risk her getting hurt even though I know she can take care of herself."

"Right. Well, I'll call you after I...count my angels." Cas promised. "Good luck, Dean."

"Thanks buddy." Dean hung up just as Kim joined him on the porch. "Well, Sam didn't answer so I called Cas. He's gonna make sure it's not an angel we're after. I didn't find any traces of sulfur anywhere, but I'm gonna call Crowley and have him check on the demons just to be sure."

Kim nodded. "Then what?"

"Then I'm gonna try calling Sam again, and I guess for now we just have to let Travis do his job and keep our eye out for any hints." Dean said, hating that they didn't have any other options. But until they knew what they were dealing with there wasn't really anything he could do.

"I heard what Jake said to you earlier." Kim said suddenly just as Dean was about to dial Crowley. "He shouldn't have."

Dean shrugged it off as if it hadn't totally pissed him off. "It's over."

"Dean, I don't know why he doesn't like you, but I know my husband, and he practically accused you of doing...something to my sister."

"Yeah, because he doesn't like me." Dean said. "He doesn't trust me. It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal." she insisted. "I don't care if he doesn't like you or doesn't trust you. You would _never_ do anything to hurt Meredith, and he should know that by now."

"Kim, it's really not a big deal. I don't need to prove myself to your husband. He can think whatever he wants to think about me. I don't care. The rest of us know I didn't do anything. You and I do anyway, and I'm pretty sure the kids don't think I did it. Not so sure about Andy in there, but I _didn't_ do anything, so even if he thinks I did he won't be able to prove it."

"Andy?"

Dean shrugged. "I figured since he's your friend you'd prefer I compare him to Andy Griffith instead of Rosco P. Coltrane. He wasn't really a bad guy, but he wasn't exactly the best sheriff either."

Kim smiled. "Well, no matter which fictional sheriff you compare him to I don't think he thinks you had anything to do with this."

"Good." Dean said and called Crowley.

"Squirrel!" Crowley crowed in what sounded like delight when he answered his phone. "I'm pretty sure this isn't a social call, so what do you need?"

"I need you to check and see if any of your demons are AWOL." Dean said. "I didn't see any sign of them, but my girlfriend's gone missing and I want to be absolutely certain it wasn't one of your guys."

"You have a girlfriend?" Crowley asked, sounding a little surprised and apparently determined to wring some social aspect out of this call. "Good for you, Squirrel. Hate to hear that she's gone missing though, but I'll do what I can to help you find her. Mostly because I don't really have anything else to do, and I'm bored."

"All I need you to do is make sure it wasn't one of your guys that took her."

Crowley sighed to convey his disappointment. "Oh, alright."

Dean didn't give him a chance to say good-bye. "I swear he's the weirdest demon I've ever met." he said as he tried Sam again. "I don't know if it's the human blood Rowena pumped into him, or if he's just bored, but he was practically begging to come help."

"Maybe we should let him." Kim suggested. "Another pair of eyes, another brain, might help."

"Not gonna happen. He's still Crowley." Dean said as he got Sam's voicemail again. He left another message. "Sammy, this is important. Call me back as soon as you get it."

"Now what?" Kim asked.

Dean tried Meredith's number again because he had nothing else to do until someone called him back, and got her voicemail again.

"Now what?" Kim asked again, not sure what else to do.

"Now I guess we wait to hear back from everyone."

They sat down on the steps and by the time the sun had gone down Dean had heard back from both Cas and Crowley, but not Sam, and Travis' deputies had made another report. No angels or demons were missing or unaccounted for, and no one had turned up any traces of Meredith or her kidnapper.

"So, we have nothing." Kim said when Travis relayed the news.

"We'll find something." Dean assured her, earning a weird look from the sheriff. "What? You think I'm just gonna sit this one out? That's my girlfriend you're looking for, Sheriff."

"Yeah, and you're a civilian." Travis said. "Let us do our jobs. We'll find her. All you need to do is let us know if you hear anything."

"I won't get in the way of your investigation, but I'm not about to sit on my ass and do nothing." Dean argued. "I don't work like that."

"Dean." Kim cautioned.

"There's nothing you _can_ do." Travis said.

Dean opened his mouth to argue that he could probably do a lot more than the police could if only he could figure out what they were dealing with, but his phone rang, cutting him off. It was Sam. He answered as soon as he saw the name on the screen. "Sam."

"Hey. Sorry I missed your calls." Sam apologized. "What's up?"

Dean explained the situation, leaving out any reference to the supernatural since Travis was standing right there, and was promptly disappointed by Sam's reply.

"You know I'd be there in a heartbeat, but Garth and I are busy with this huge pack of wolves in California." Sam said, clearly hating that he had to say it.

"Garth's hunting again?" Dean asked, momentarily forgetting about the sheriff, not that what he had said sent up any red flags. "They just had a kid."

"Yeah, but this pack's crazy." Sam said. "I wasn't kidding when I said huge. There's got to be at least fifty wolves that we know of so far, and it's some kind of Charles Manson meets Jim Jones werewolf cult or something. It's freakin' weird, man. Garth found out about it somehow and called me because there's no way he could've handled it on his own. I was actually thinking about calling you to come help us, but it sounds like you've got your hands full already. I might have to call Claire in as much as I don't want to."

"Well, I'd come out and help, but..."

"Yeah. No, you stay there and find Meredith." Sam said. "We've got the wolves. Let me know if there's anything I can help with from here."

"Sure. Just make sure you answer your phone next time I call." Dean said. "Don't do like Dad used to."

They wrapped up the phone call and Dean looked at Travis. "Well, that was my brother. He hasn't heard from her, but he said he'd call if he does."

"Okay. Well, there's not anything else you guys can do tonight, so why don't you all get something to eat and get some sleep." Travis said as he moved toward the steps. "We'll keep looking, and I'll let you know as soon as we find anything."

"Thanks Travis." Kim said as the sheriff got in his car and drove away. She looked back up at Dean. "What else did Sam say?"

Dean sighed. "Basically that I'm on my own with this one. He's tied up with some weird werewolf thing out in California."

"Can you handle this on your own?" she asked.

"First I gotta figure out what I'm supposed to be handling." he said. "And all I know for certain is that it's not a demon or an angel, and probably not any kind of spirit. Other than that, I got nothing."

Kim was beyond upset, but she knew it had to be killing Dean not having any leads like this, so she stepped forward and wrapped him in a hug. He returned the hug, accepting the comfort she was offering and trying to give some back because he knew he wasn't the only one afraid of what might happen.

"We're gonna find her." he said. "I promise you I will find her."

Kim realized that he wasn't just making the promise to her, but to himself and Meredith as well.

 **I know this story is about Dean and Meredith, but I can't help feeling sorry for Sam and Garth right now. Can you imagine how strange that pack must be? And poor, bored Crowley missing his Deanmon bromance days. I really love these little moments with Cas and Crowley. They're so much fun to write! I would include them more, but I've learned my lesson about involving too many people and plots at one time. I don't want to lose track of anyone here. Anyway, review please because I could use some cheering up today and you guys always make me smile! ~SG**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Dean!" Meredith shouted as she woke suddenly and sat up. She found herself in her dark, quiet bedroom with Dean asleep beside her, but something didn't feel right.

She was on the wrong side of the bed. The man beside her rolled over and looked at her with concern in the dark room. When he spoke she realized immediately what was wrong.

"Babe, what's wrong?" Jake asked. "Who's Dean?"

"Jake!" she yelped, scooting away and clutching the blankets to her body to cover her bare chest. He had obviously seen her naked before, but they weren't married anymore. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here, babe." he said, reaching for her and looking confused and a little hurt when she scooted further from him. He sat up, worry etched on his face, and turned on the lamp. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"You live here?"

"Yeah. Husbands and wives usually live together."

"We're not married anymore."

"Yeah, we are." he insisted. "What kind of nightmare did you have?"

Meredith looked down at her hand and saw a pair of familiar rings on her finger. The diamonds sparkled in the dim light from the lamp on Jake's side of the bed, and Meredith recognized them instantly as the engagement and wedding rings that he had given her. She kept them in her jewelry box now, so why were they on her hand? And why was he in her bed?

As she looked around the room she noticed more things that weren't right. Actually, the only thing that _was_ right was the actual room itself. Everything else from the paint on the walls to the bed to the pictures on the dresser was wrong. This was all the stuff that had been here when she had been married to Jake. All of that was gone now except for the pictures, which were mostly packed away, and a few of the knick-knacks and trinkets she had saved.

"Babe?" Jake said, sounding as concerned as he looked. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head slightly. "No. I mean, yes. I'm fine. It was just...a really weird dream."

"Okay." Jake said. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No. Not really."

"Okay. Then why don't we try to get some sleep?"

She nodded, but when he moved toward her and tried to put his arms around her she couldn't do it. She knew he was only trying to comfort her, but he wasn't her husband. This wasn't right. The only man she should be in bed with was Dean.

"Meredith." Jake called after her as she got out of bed and pulled on her clothes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Jake." she insisted. "I just...I can't sleep right now. I think I need a little air."

He started to get up, apparently deciding to join her, but she stopped him with a shake of her head. "No. I just want to be alone right now. You go back to sleep. I'll be fine. I promise."

Jake didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue. "Okay. Wake me up if you need to."

She turned and walked out of the room, once again assaulted by the past when she turned on the lamp in the living room. In fact, the entire downstairs was almost exactly as it had been about two years ago. Except that the calendar said it wasn't two years ago, and the family photo on the mantel made her heart drop into her stomach.

It was a professional photo taken under the tree in the front yard. She saw her own face smiling back at her along with those of Jake, Kim, Dylan, and Rowan, but the family dynamic was clearly shifted. In this photo Jake and Kim weren't married and Dylan and Rowan were cousins. And there was a third kid, one she recognized immediately even though she had never seen him at this age because he hadn't lived long enough to get there. Tears sprang to her eyes as she stared at the picture, her gaze locked on the curly headed three year old boy whose smiling face looked a lot like hers.

"Oh my god." she whispered. "Corey."

She heard something move across the room, and when she turned around there he was.

His light brown hair was mussed and he was wearing Spiderman pajamas and clutching a familiar crocheted baby blanket as he rubbed sleepily at his brown eyes.

"Mama?" he said, shuffling over to her and wrapping his little arms around her legs. "I had a bad dream. Can I come sleep wiff you and Daddy?"

She wanted to cry. _This_ was the reason she had been so distraught when she had found out that she was pregnant with Dean's baby. _This_ was the baby that had convinced her that she wasn't meant to have her own children, the one that had been stillborn and had completely broken her heart. _This_ was the baby that she and Kim had salted and burned to make sure his infant ghost wouldn't haunt her. _This_ was the child that should not exist, and yet here he was, clinging to her legs as if she were the only thing in the world that made him feel safe.

She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. That would only scare him. So instead she forced back the urge and picked up the child, holding him close and breathing in his sweet scent. She carried him over to the couch and sat down, her heart ready to burst when he wrapped his arms around her neck. "Do you want to tell me about your dream?"

Corey shook his head. "No. It was scary."

She brushed his curls away from his face. "Maybe if you tell me about it I can make it less scary."

"There was a monster." Corey said, settling down in her lap and snuggling against her.

"What kind of monster?" she asked.

"A ghost. In my closet."

"Oh, well, we don't have any ghosts in this house, baby." Meredith assured him.

"I saw it." he argued.

Meredith shook her head. "It was just a dream, baby. I promise you we don't, but if you want I can fix your room so that no ghost can ever get to you."

Corey nodded, and she carried him into the kitchen and grabbed a can of salt out of the cabinet before taking him back up to his room. It was decorated in superheros.

"How could you ever feel scared in a room full of superheros?" she asked in a teasing voice as she set him in his bed.

Corey shrugged. "Ghosts are scary, Mama."

"They sure can be." she said.

She took the time to thoroughly check every nook and cranny a ghost might be hiding in to show him that his room was spirit-free, and then put down salt lines at the pair of windows and the door.

"What's that for, Mama?"

"If any ghost gets in this house they won't be able to get in your room." she said and sat down beside him on the bed. "A few years ago we had a ghost here. She was a mean ghost, and she wanted to hurt me, so I called a friend of mine to come help me. Do you know what he and his brother did?"

Corey shook their head.

"They were monster hunters." she explained. "They traveled all over the country in a really cool car saving people from all kinds of things."

"Ghosts?"

She nodded. "Yep. And they saved me from that mean ghost that wanted to hurt me, and that's how I know that salt keeps ghosts out. They can't cross it, so as long as those salt lines stay unbroken you are perfectly safe in this room. Okay?"

Corey nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Mama."

"You're welcome." she said, placing a kiss on top of his head. "Think you can go back to sleep now?"

Corey nodded again. "Can you stay?"

"Of course I can, baby."

She stayed until he was asleep, and then just stood in the doorway for a while and watched him. Then she went down the hall and checked in on Dylan, who was sound asleep, and headed back downstairs. She knew this wasn't right, but she wanted to enjoy having both of her boys for a little while.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs her mind was trying to figure out what exactly had happened and how she had ended up in this alternate reality. The last thing she could remember before waking up with Jake was walking into the kitchen after running her errands. She had been planning on sitting down for a few minutes before starting dinner, and then...

Someone had grabbed her from behind.

She thought she had seen something blue, and then she had awakened in this world where she was still married to Jake and Corey had lived.

"Oh my god." she breathed as the pieces fit themselves together in her mind. The blue light, Corey being alive. She knew exactly what had happened because Dean had told her about the time the same thing had happened to him. "It's a djinn."

But she couldn't remember how Dean had gotten out of his djinn induced dream world. She knew you could kill one with a silver knife dipped in lamb's blood, but that did her no good if she couldn't get out of this dream to kill it.

"Feeling any better?" Jake asked when she practically ran back into the bedroom and grabbed her phone. "What are you doing?"

"I have to call Dean." she said. "This isn't real."

Jake got out of bed and walked around to her, taking the phone from her hands. "Meredith, what's gotten into you? Who is Dean?"

She snatched her phone back, and frantically scrolled through her contacts. "He's the only one that can tell me what I need to do to get out of this."

"Get out of what?"

But Dean's number wasn't in her phone. "Sam."

"Sam?" Jake grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him. "Meredith, what's going on?"

"You're not real!" she shouted. "None of this is real! If I stay here, I'll die."

Jake took the phone from her once more and forced her to sit down on the bed. "Meredith, babe, you're scaring me. Calm down and tell me what's going on. Who are Dean and Sam?"

Her eyes went wide. He knew about the deaths in her family, but he didn't know the whole truth. "I'm not crazy."

"Of course you're not." he said in a soothing voice, clearly placating her. "Just tell me why you're so upset. Who are Sam and Dean?"

"They killed Hanna." she said. "This isn't real, Jake. None of this. We're not married. Corey died. Dean..." Her eyes grew even wider as she realized something. What if Dean was still dead in this world? What if Cas had never pulled him out of Hell? "No. No. This isn't right."

"Meredith."

She jumped up from the bed and grabbed her phone again. "Dean. I have to find Dean. I have to call Sam." But Sam's number wasn't there either. She looked back at Jake. "Did the Apocalypse happen?"

"What?" Jake asked, looking like he was afraid of something. "Meredith..."

She knew what he was afraid of. He was afraid that his wife really was going crazy. "I'm not crazy, Jake. Don't look at me like that."

"What are you looking for?" he asked as she began rummaging through drawers. She froze when she saw that the shoe box containing all the sweet notes Dean had left her wasn't on the shelf where it should be, and burst into tears.

Jake moved from the bed to the floor and pulled her close. "It's okay. You're okay."

"It's not okay!" she wailed. "This isn't real. I...I need Dean. Or Sam. I don't even know if Dean is alive. It's a djinn. He's looking for me, and he needs to know it's a djinn."

"Try to calm down, babe." Jake said. "It's all going to be okay. We'll figure this out. I'll help you figure this out."

"You can't help me, Jake." she argued. "You don't know anything about this!"

"About what?"

"About djinn!" she shouted. "You don't know anything about the supernatural. How can you help when you don't know?"

"Meredith, that stuff isn't real." he argued. "You know that."

She pushed away from him, breaking free of his grasp. "It _is_ real, Jake! All of it! It's all real, and I have to find a way to get out of this world or I'll die in the real one. I need to find Sam because I don't remember how Dean got out. If you really want to help me just leave me alone."

Jake opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off when her phone rang. She lunged for it. The number on the screen wasn't one that was in her contacts list, but it was one that she recognized.

 _Bits and pieces of the real world can cross over into the djinn world._

She accepted the call and pushed Jake away when he tried to take the phone from her again. "Dean?"

"Mere?" he sounded shocked and relieved. "Thank god. Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I don't know." she said. "It's a djinn. A normal one. I'm trapped in a dream world, and I don't know how to get out."

"You have to kill yourself." Dean said quickly.

"What?"

"If you're about to die in a dream you wake up." Dean explained. "That's how I got out. I'll find you and kill the djinn, but you have to pull yourself out of that world."

Suddenly the phone was ripped from her hands and she lunged at Jake, trying to get it back. "No! Dean!"

But Jake hung up and tossed the phone on the bed, grabbing her arms and restraining her so that she couldn't lash out and hit him. "Meredith, _calm down_! I don't know what's gotten into you, but you have to _calm down_!"

Somehow she managed to get free and made a break for the kitchen.

"Meredith!" Jake shouted and ran after her. She had a knife in her hand when he reached the kitchen. "No! Meredith, put the knife down."

"It's not real!" she shouted as Dylan appeared behind his father, having been awakened by their shouting. Corey was standing beside him, holding his hand.

"Mama?" Dylan asked. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"Take your brother back upstairs, and call Travis." Jake ordered as he edged closer to his wife. "Meredith, give me the knife."

"You're not real." she said, tears spilling down her face at the thought of losing Corey again. "None of this is real. I can't stay here."

"We _are_ real." Jake insisted. "Give me the knife." He realized the boys were still standing there. "Dylan, go. Take your brother back upstairs and call Travis. Now!"

Dylan scooped up his little brother and ran from the room.

"Meredith, give me the knife." Jake pleaded. "Please, don't do this, babe."

"I have to." she said.

"No!" Jake shouted as she plunged the knife into her chest, aiming for her own heart.

%%%

Dean had tried calling her phone again out of desperation. He had been completely shocked when she had answered. Especially once she had told him that she was trapped in a djinn world. He knew reality could bleed into the fantasy, but that just seemed downright weird. How was it possible that he had managed to put through a call to a fake phone in a fantasy world?

Of course, it didn't really matter how it had happened, because now he had something to work with. It could all be some kind of trick, but at least he wasn't just twiddling his thumbs anymore.

As he began searching for anything in the area that a djinn might be shacked up in he remembered that he had just told his girlfriend that she had to kill herself to stay alive. He hated that that was the case, but he hoped she was able to do it. If she could pull herself out of the dream maybe she could fight back some if she wasn't too weak already. It wouldn't stop the djinn from sending her right back, but at least it might delay the worst case scenario. He wasn't sure he could handle it if he got there only to find her dead. In fact, he was almost certain that if that were the case he'd just have to use the lamb's blood knife on himself after killing the djinn. He didn't want to go back to his old life. Not completely. A hunt every now and then was okay, but he just couldn't deal with it twenty-four/seven anymore.

 **Is your heart breaking right now? Because mine is. I don't know if the whole phone call thing really makes sense here, but this _is_ a fanfic about supernatural things, so I figured creative license definitely applies. ~SG**


	6. Chapter 6

**Casting update because I totally forgot the last chapter, and I know I'm not the only one that likes to know what these people look like. Travis, who I don't think makes any more appearances, is Rider Strong, and sweet little Corey is August Maturo. Clearly I've decided to use the entire cast of Girl Meets World for this lol. ~SG**

Chapter 6

Meredith woke from her nightmare once more only to find that she was in a hospital room. When she shot up she managed to pull the intravenous line out of her arm and screamed at the unexpected pain.

"Mere!" a voice shouted from across the room, and suddenly there was a familiar face by her side. "Hey. You're okay."

She was flooded with relief when she realized it was Sam, and allowed him to ease her back into the pillows. "Ouch."

"Yeah, I bet." Sam said. "I'll call a nurse to come replace that IV line and make sure you didn't rip open your stitches."

"Stitches?" she asked, confused. Then she realize that some of the pain was coming from her abdomen. "Sam, what happened?"

"You don't remember?" he asked after he had pressed the call button and requested assistance.

Meredith shook her head. She wasn't sure where she was other than in a hospital, and she didn't trust herself to answer that question without sounding crazy.

"You stabbed yourself with a knife a couple of nights ago." Sam said. "Kim told me you just kind of...snapped. Apparently you freaked out over Dean, and kept yelling that nothing was real."

Of course she remembered that, but she also remembered the truth, and his answer confirmed her suspicions that the djinn had dropped her back into the fantasy world. "Where am I exactly?"

"The psych ward." Sam said hesitantly.

A nurse appeared and hooked her back up to the IV. She looked at Sam. "What happened? Do we need to restrain her?"

"No." Sam said quickly. "No. I think she just wasn't sure where she was when she woke up and it scared her. She didn't realize she had an IV and she sat up too fast."

The nurse looked suspicious, but accepted Sam's explanation and quickly checked Meredith's stitches, deeming them to be fine. She cautioned Meredith about moving around so suddenly too much and reminded them that if they needed anything she was only a call away before leaving them alone again.

"Why did Kim call you?" Meredith asked, assuming that's what had happened. From what she had gathered Sam probably wasn't a fixture in her life in this world.

"I mean, I know we haven't talked in a really long time, but you're still my friend." Sam said. "And this was so sudden she thought I might be able to help."

She shifted a little, trying to get comfortable. "This may be a bad question, but where's Dean?"

"Getting coffee." Sam said as if he expected her not to believe him.

She sighed in relief. "Good. I was afraid he might still be dead."

Sam looked completely confused. "Okay. Mere, what's going on? I warned her, but Kim almost had a heart attack when she saw him. You don't seem surprised at all. Did he call you or something and not tell me?"

"No. I-" she was cut off by Dean's appearance in the doorway.

"Hey, she's awake!" he said, handing Sam a styrofoam cup of coffee and setting his on the tray by her bed so he could lean down and gently give her a hug. "How you feeling?"

She had to remind herself that this was _not_ her Dean, and it would only cause more problems if she kissed him. Somehow, she managed to resist the urge to do so and simply gave him a one-armed hug because the one with the IV was soar where she had accidentally pulled it out. "Um...I don't really know how to answer that question. I'm soar from my stitches and pulling out my IV, and I'm trying to decided if you two will think I'm crazy if I tell you why I stabbed myself."

"Why'd you pull your IV out?" Dean asked a little warily.

"She sat up too fast when she woke up." Sam said. "I don't think she realized where she was."

"No. I didn't." Meredith confirmed. "But that's not so strange, actually."

"What does that mean?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Why would we think you're crazy?" Sam asked. "Mere, why did you stab yourself?"

She decided that they probably would believe her, or would at least hear her out, just because they were Sam and Dean. Not the _real_ Sam and Dean, but so far they seemed to be about the same. She just wasn't sure if it was safe to talk or not. "Is anyone else here?"

"No, it's just us." Sam said. "Kim and Jake are at work, and Dylan and Rowan are at school."

"Yeah, and Corey's with a neighbor I think." Dean added. "Cute kid, by the way. He looks just like you."

That stung a little because she knew that none of this was real. "Thanks."

"So, what's going on?" Dean asked, sitting down on the edge of her bed and taking a sip of coffee.

"I'm only telling you guys this because I think there's at least a chance you might believe me." she said. "None of this is real. It's all a fantasy in my head."

"What, like a djinn type thing?" Dean asked, clearly not expecting her to know much about djinn. His experience wasn't one he had gone into detail about the first time they had met. That story had come later, the second time around. Or maybe it was technically the third.

She nodded. "Exactly like a djinn type thing. This is the second time it's dropped me into this world."

"Meaning you got out once." Sam assumed. "Which is why you stabbed yourself."

"But how did you know to do that?" Dean asked. "I don't remember ever telling you much about djinn."

"You did." she said. "The real you did anyway. No offense."

Dean shrugged. "None taken. So...this is your wish? Going crazy and landing yourself in the psych ward? That's weird, Mere."

She smiled at his humor. "No. My wish was that Corey was alive."

"He died in the real world?" Sam asked gently.

"He was stillborn." she corrected. "After a miscarriage."

"Ah geez." Dean said. "That sucks."

"Dean." Sam chided.

Meredith shook her head. "No, he's right. It does suck. It _really_ sucks."

"Can I ask you something?" Dean asked. "About the real world."

"The answer might freak you out a little, but go ahead." she said.

"How, uh...how well do we know each other?" he asked. "Because I have a feeling if I told you about the djinn stuff we probably reconnected at some point, and I'm just curious what kind of...reconnection it was."

"Probably the kind you're thinking it was...is." she said. "In the real world you're semi-retired and we're...living together."

Sam choked on his coffee, earning a look from Dean.

"Living together as in... _together_ together?"

"Yeah. I'm actually...oh god."

"What?"

"The baby."

Dean's eyes went wide. "The baby? You're...you're _pregnant_?"

"I mean, I don't know if I am here or not, but yeah."

Dean went white. "And its...mine?"

"She just said you're together." Sam said. "Who else would be the father?"

"I don't know, Sam." Dean snapped. "Maybe her _husband_?"

"You're living together, Dean. You _are_ her husband."

Dean looked back at Meredith, and she couldn't help but laugh at the alarmed look of confusion on his face. She wanted to take his hand, but that would probably only freak him out more even if it would comfort her. "Calm down, Dean. We're not married."

"So, what, you're...keeping me?" Dean asked. "Does Jake know?"

She laughed outright at that. "Seriously? _That's_ the conclusion you jump to? No, Dean. I'm not _keeping_ you."

"Well, you could stop laughing."

"No, I don't think I can." she said, still giggling. But it hurt her stitches so she had to stop. Once she had she explained the situation. "After Corey...Jake and I got divorced. He married Kim about a year ago, and-"

"Your sister married your ex-husband?" Dean interrupted. "Wow. That's-"

"Weird even for you." she finished. "Yeah, I know."

"How'd you know I was gonna say that?"

"Maybe because she knows you?" Sam suggested. "Really well, apparently."

"Shut up, Sam."

Meredith tried not to grin too much. She could tell that Dean was embarrassed. "That's what you said the first time I told you. You dropped back into my life about six and a half months ago after you killed Death and got rid of the Mark. You needed a break. I'd explain why you decided to take that break with me, but I don't want to embarrass you in front of your brother."

"Well, you already have." Dean said, a smile softening the freaked out look on his face. "But I think I can guess why I picked you. Sounds like your version of me is pretty much the same guy. Except the whole semi-retired thing. How did _that_ happen?"

"You fell in love, Dean." Sam said as if it were blatantly obvious.

Meredith smiled once again at Dean's embarrassment.

"Did we ever find Cas?" Dean asked, changing the subject and sounding like he was afraid of her answer.

"Did you not?" she asked in reply.

"Not until it was too late." Sam said.

"What about Crowley and Rowena?"

"It was too late for both of them, and she got away." Dean said. "We're still trying to find her. Is that what happened in your world?"

"Cas and Crowley are fine, and Rowena's dead." Meredith said. "You're welcome for that, by the way. If Claire and I hadn't shown up when we did you'd all probably be dead."

Both brothers were visibly surprised at the plot twist.

" _You_ killed Rowena?" Dean asked.

"Technically I only stopped her from choking you after she knocked Sam out." Meredith corrected. "I stabbed her with the angle blade she was using on Cas and Crowley. Claire staked her."

"Damn."

"Hey." Sam said suddenly. "If this is a djinn you need to get out of here."

Meredith shook her head. "He'll just drop me back in."

"Does anyone know you're missing?" Dean asked.

She nodded. "I have a feeling the entire police department it tearing the county apart looking for me, but they don't know what you do."

"So, Real Dean and Real Sam _are_ looking for you?" Dean guessed.

"I don't know about Sam, but yeah. You...Dean is looking for me. Somehow he managed to call me in this world last night. I don't think he knew what he was looking for until I told him."

"The real world can bleed into the djinn world." Sam said. "Dean saw that other victim. I guess a phone call is possible."

"How?" Dean asked. "If this is a dream, her phone isn't real. How do you call a fake phone?"

Meredith shrugged. "I don't really care."

"Maybe if we can find the djinn here you can get another call through and tell your Dean where to look." Sam suggested.

"Weirder things have happened." Dean said.

Meredith agreed. "I guess it's worth a shot."

"I'll head back to Kim's and start looking." Sam said, rising from his seat.

Dean stayed where he was, and once Sam was gone he got up and pulled her chart from it's hook at the foot of her bed. "Would you look at that? You are pregnant. I wonder if it's Jake's here."

"I don't want to stay here long enough to find out." she said.

Dean put the chart back and sat back down on the bed. "Do I...uh, Real Dean...does he know? About the baby?"

"No one does." She said. "I've only known for a few days, and to be honest I'm a little afraid to tell him. I don't know about you, and he's never actually said it, but I can tell how badly he wants a family. After the miscarriage and losing Corey...every doctor I've ever seen says there's nothing wrong with me, but I've lost two babies already."

"You're afraid you're gonna lose this one too." Dean guessed, looking like his heart was breaking for her after hearing what she had been through.

She nodded, her throat feeling tight as she tried hard not to cry. "I don't want to get anyone's hopes up."

"Well, you have to tell him sometime, right?" Dean said.

"Not necessarily."

She didn't say it, but Dean understood what she meant. There was no reason to tell anyone if there was no baby. He didn't think that was the right choice, but he could see why she would be considering it. He could only imagine how hard it must be to lose two babies and be afraid you might lose a third. She didn't want to go through that again, and she didn't want to crush his...her Dean's hopes of having kids. He wanted to say something to make it all better, but there was nothing he could say so he simply reached out and took her hand, unable to resist smiling back when she smiled gratefully in response. He thought about leaning over and giving her a kiss on the forehead for her sake, but that was a little too weird, so he simply held her hand and sat with her.

%%%

"A djinn?" Kim asked. "Are you serious?"

"I wish I wasn't." Dean said.

"They feed on human blood, right?"

He nodded.

"How long do we have before..."

"I'm not sure." he admitted. "It depends on how long it wants to make her last. She'll wake up from the dream if she dies in it, but that won't really help her much if I can't find the damn thing to kill it."

"Where would it be?"

"They like ruins."

"The cotton mill." Kim said immediately.

"They might not still be in town." Dean said. "There's no telling where it took her."

Kim grabbed her jacket. "It's as good a place to start as any, right?"

"You're not going."

"I'm not letting you go by yourself."

"Kim."

"She's my sister, Dean. Would you sit on the sidelines if it was Sam?"

"Yes." he said. "If I had no experience."

"Don't lie to me, Dean." Kim said, calling him out. "Experience or not there's no way you'd stay home and wait if Sam was in any kind of danger. He wouldn't sit home if it was you, Mere wouldn't sit home if it were me, and I'm not sitting home because it _is_ her. What do we need to kill it?"

"A silver knife dipped in lamb's blood."

"Okay. Well, I don't happen to have a supply of lamb's blood. Do you?"

"At the moment? No."

"Then I'll go find some while you check out the mill and see if they're there." Kim suggested. "That way you won't have to worry about keeping me safe. Once we find her I'll let you go in by yourself because I trust you, but please let me help, Dean."

He sighed, trying to will away the headache that was forming behind his eyes, and rolled his shoulders ineffectively against the tension. "Alright. Fine. Can you actually slaughter a lamb, though? It doesn't sound like much, but you'll actually be killing a living creature."

Kim held up her hands, weighing her options. "Kill a sheep or let my sister die. Hmm...yeah. I think I can handle it."

"Not just a sheep." Dean said. "It has to be a lamb or we're screwed."

"So, I'll kill a baby sheep." she said as if it were nothing. "I can handle it, Dean. For my sister I can handle anything."

"Good." Dean said and followed her out the door, assuming she knew where to find a lamb around here. There weren't any that he was aware of, but right now he was more concerned about getting out to the old cotton mill on the edge of town and hopefully not getting dropped into a djinn world himself. That certainly wouldn't help anyone.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Hi Mama!" Corey exclaimed as he flew into the room and climbed up on her bed with a little help from Dean, gently giving her a hug and a kiss before settling down beside her. "Sam brought me to see you."

Meredith smiled at the boy and slipped her non-IV arm around his little shoulders, pulling him close and kissing his head. "That was very nice of him."

"Daddy won't like it." Corey said. "He said you're sick, and you need sleep."

"Apparently I slept for a couple of days." Meredith said. "I'd rather be awake and hang out with you."

Corey smiled, and snuggled closer. "Good."

"I thought you might like some time with him." Sam said. "Considering."

Meredith smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you. Did you find anything?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah. There's an old cotton mill on the edge of town. Looks like the kind of place a djinn would like. Dylan and Rowan said they'd come here after school, which shouldn't be too much longer, right?"

She glanced at the clock and nodded.

"So, I figured Corey can hang out here with you and Dean and I can go check out the mill."

"Will you be okay here by yourself?" Dean asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. I've got my call button if I need anything, I've got my kid to keep me company until my other kids get here, and as long as nothing happens...elsewhere, I should be fine."

"Don't get too attached." Dean cautioned, nodding toward Corey. "I know how easy it can be to get pulled in and want to stay. I almost did."

"I'll be fine, Dean." she assured him. "And if not I have no doubt you'll be able to snap me out of it."

Dean wasn't sure if she meant him literally or her version of him, but he would definitely try to get her thinking clearly if she decided she wanted to stay with her son. On impulse he placed a kiss on her forehead before following Sam out of the room, and promised they'd be back as soon as possible.

"Why'd he kiss you, Mama?" Corey asked.

Meredith smiled. She knew exactly why he had kissed her. She had a feeling this Dean was quickly developing deeper feeling for her now that he knew the truth, but that kiss was purely for her benefit. "It was just a friendly kiss. Like a brother kissing his sister."

"Or Dylan kissing Rowan?"

"Yeah." It was exactly like that.

%%%

"So," Sam said. "You and Meredith."

"Shut up, Sam." Dean shot back. "It's not real."

"No. _We're_ not real." Sam reminded him. "You and Meredith _are_ real."

Dean rolled his eyes. "It's not _me_ though, Sammy. It's her Dean."

"Yeah. The real Dean. Admit it. You like the idea." Sam said. "You wish she could stay."

"No." Dean argued. "And it doesn't matter what I want anyway. She can't stay."

%%%

Meredith had never told Jake the truth about Hanna. Kim wasn't even sure he knew that Dean was the friend that had died and left her sister so heartbroken. Actually, she was pretty sure he didn't because that was something he would have mentioned. His reasons for being suspicious of Dean had nothing to do with his resurrection because Jake had no clue that had even happened. She wasn't sure, but she thought her husband was afraid that Dean would hurt Meredith. She knew that would never happen, not intentionally, but Jake really didn't know that much about Dean.

As she pulled up outside the local sheep farm, all the way on the other side of the county, she realized that she would probably have to tell her husband the truth at a some point in the near future. And Travis too. They would need a cover story once they found Meredith, and Jake and Travis weren't stupid men. Meredith would be at least partially drained of blood and Dean would have killed the djinn with a highly unusual weapon. They could spread a false story for the public, but those closest to Meredith would probably require a bit more real information.

And now she had to sneak onto a farm in the middle of the night and slit a lamb's throat to save her sister. She wondered, as she got out of her car with a knife in her hand, how that wasn't extremely disturbing to her.

Once she found the lambs she didn't waste any time with picking one. If someone caught her out here she was in big trouble. She simply grabbed one, took a deep breath and sliced it's throat open with the blade. She gagged a little as she caught the blood in a jar, but was rather impressed with her ability to do what she had just done. Was it a bad sign? Probably, but oh well.

She screwed the lid on the jar once it was full and hightailed it back to her car. The other animals were putting up a racket and she would be stupid if she thought no one was going to investigate. The front door of the house opened just as she got back in her car and pulled away from the fence. Was this the sort of thing Sam and Dean had to deal with on a regular basis? Should she have taken the dead lamb with her?

Oh well. It was too late now, and all she really cared about was saving her sister.

Dean wasn't back yet when she pulled back into her own driveway, but Jake was waiting for her when she dashed across the street and into Dean and Meredith's house. She froze in her tracks when she found him in the living room, her brain frantically searching for a way to explain the bloody knife in her right hand and the jar of blood in her left.

"Jake!" she practically screeched. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. I woke up, and you were gone." he said, and then his eyes drifted down to the items in her hands. "And now I'm really worried. What have you been doing?"

She opened her mouth to lie to him, but the truth came out instead because she couldn't come up with a believable lie. "Killing a lamb to save my sister."

"Excuse me?"

"My answer's not gonna be any different the second time around." she said. "Let me get cleaned up a little and I'll explain everything. You probably won't believe me, but I'll explain anyway."

"Okay." he said hesitantly and sat back down, not sure what to do.

When Dean came home Kim had washed her hands and the knife, which was sitting on the kitchen counter with the jar of blood, and had given her husband a brief explanation of what was really going on in the world.

"You expect me to believe that?" Jake asked.

"No." she said. "But it _is_ the truth. Sam and Dean hunt monsters. They saved us from a killer ghost, and Sam's not here right now because he's dealing with a pack of werewolves somewhere in California."

"And you want me to believe a _genie_ took your sister?"

"Well, it's not Robin Williams." Dean said, alerting them to his presence. "They don't grant wishes. They just drop you into a dream world and make you think your wish has come true while they feed on you. Either your blood or your fear depending on the type. This particular djinn is currently playing vampire with my girlfriend, and that jar of lamb's blood in the kitchen is what's going to stop it."

"Are they at the mill?" Kim asked, completely ignoring her husband.

"The djinn's there." Dean replied. "And he's got two other victims hooked up to blood bags, but I didn't see any sign of Meredith."

"Why would he keep her separate from the others?"

Dean sighed. He had a pretty good idea. "To keep me from finding her. I'm pretty sure I've done something in the past to piss this particular djinn off, and now he's getting his revenge."

"How do you piss off a djinn?" Jake asked.

"What's the easiest way to piss anything off?" Dean countered.

"Hurt its family." Kim said. "You and Sam have killed djinn before."

"Took out an entire family of the blood-sucking kind, and a mother/son pair of the fear-sucking kind." Dean said. "Apparently Brigitta has a cousin or something that we missed. That's my best guess anyway."

"Brigitta?" Jake repeated, completely lost.

"Her father attacked me, and we killed him so she and her brothers came after us." Dean explained. "We killed them too. Apparently there's more to the family tree."

"It doesn't matter why this djinn took Meredith." Kim said. "All that matters is that it has her, and we need to find her. And I think we could use some help."

"I have an idea." Dean said.

"What?" Kim asked eagerly, willing to do whatever he asked her to.

"I don't know if she managed to get out of the dream earlier or not, but if she did the djinn's probably dropped her back in by now." Dean said, pulling out his phone. "If she can get out again maybe she can do what Cas did when Rowena had him."

"Dean, Meredith's not an angel." Kim reminded him. "She can't just pop into your dreams and give you clues. Besides, didn't you say that almost killed Cas because of whatever Rowena poisoned him with?"

"Yeah, but that's not exactly what I meant. I managed to get through to her on the phone earlier. Maybe I can do it again."

"How is that possible if she's in another world?" Jake asked, still completely lost.

Kim explained while Dean dialed. "She's not really _in_ another world. It's a dream. When the djinn had Dean he kept seeing this girl in his dream world that ended up being another one of the djinn's victims in real life. The real world can bleed into the dream. I wouldn't have thought a phone call would work, but there's still a lot about the supernatural world that I don't understand."

"Well, a phone call didn't work this time." Dean said, hanging up. "I got her voicemail again, but there's still another way I might be able to get to her."

"Which is?" Kim prompted impatiently.

"African Dream Root. It worked with Charlie, but it was a different kind of djinn. I don't think that'll matter though."

"What's African Dream Root?" Jake asked

"Look," Dean said, trying not to snap at the other man because he understood that this was all very new and confusing to him. "We don't have time for Hunting 101 right now. Eventually that djinn is going to drain all of Meredith's blood and she'll die. I have to be able to find her before then, and we have no idea how much blood she's lost already. I'm not trying to be rude here, but if you could just stop asking questions and let me do my job I'd really appreciate it."

Jake wasn't sure exactly how to respond to that so he simply shut up.

Dean quickly explained how African Dream Root worked while he mixed the foul tasting drink, adding a strand of Meredith's hair from her brush, and then made himself comfortable on the couch after gulping the concoction down. A little while later he was sound asleep.

"Now what?" Jake asked.

"Now we wait."

%%%

Dean woke up in an uncomfortable chair in a hospital waiting room. "This can't be good."

He found his way to a nurse's station and asked the woman at the desk where he could find Meredith Mitchell. She directed him to a room in the psych ward.

"Also not good." he muttered as he followed the signs on the wall.

It took a few minutes, but he finally found the right room and checked to make sure no one else was there before he went in. Aside from Meredith and a nurse the room was empty.

The nurse gave him a smile that said she recognized him when she looked up and saw him standing in the doorway. Meredith was asleep and she was checking her vitals to make sure everything was okay. Dean assumed this was the hospital he had taken Meredith to after Hanna had shot her, and wondered if this was one of the same nurses. She didn't look familiar, but he had seen a lot of people over the last decade. Not all of them stood out in his mind.

"She seems to be doing just fine today, Mr. Winchester." she said. "The Mitchells are pretty lucky to have friends like you and your brother. I'm sure Meredith's sister and husband are relieved to know that you two are here so often when they can't be with her."

Husband? Was she still married to Jake in this dream? That made him wonder what wish the djinn had granted her because he knew that wasn't it.

"Well, you know." he said. "The Mitchells, they're like family to us, so of course we're gonna do whatever we can to help."

The nurse smiled. "Well, I think it's wonderful. A lot of the patients in this ward aren't so lucky. Let me know it you need anything."

"Thanks." he said as she walked out of the room.

He went in and sat down on the bed. She looked so peaceful asleep with her hair in her face. There was an IV line in her arm that looked like whoever had put it in had screwed up on the first try and he wanted to hit whoever had hurt her. But instead he just reached out and gently pushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear like she did so often. He didn't want to wake her, but he didn't have any choice.

"Mere." he said, giving her shoulder a gentle shake and hoping he wasn't causing any pain. He didn't know what kind of wounds she might have. "Wake up, baby."

Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him. "Hey. Where's Sam?"

Dean faltered for a moment. Why was she asking for Sam? "Uh, Sam's in California."

She looked confused for a moment and then he could actually see the pieces click into place and her confusion turned to joy. "You're my Dean?"

"Well, yeah, but I guess it depends on what you mean by that exactly." he said. "I'm guessing there's a dream version of me running around somewhere?"

She nodded. "Yeah. He and Sam are out trying to find the djinn. We thought maybe if we figured out where it's hiding we might be able to find a way to tell you so you could find me faster."

"He's at the cotton mill, and he's got two other victims." Dean said.

"So...why are you here if you know where I am?"

"Because the djinn's probably keeping you somewhere else." Dream Dean said as he and Sam walked into the room. He looked at Real Dean sitting on the bed and gave a slight shake of his head. "God, I wish this was weirder than it is."

"You and me both." Real Dean agreed.

"It's weird for me if it make either of you feel any better." Sam piped up.

"Not really." both Deans said.

"Why would the djinn be keeping me somewhere else?"

"Revenge." Dream Dean said.

Real Dean nodded in agreement. "That's my best guess. I think it's probably one of Brigitta's relatives. He took you to get back at me, and now he's keeping you separate from the others to make it harder for me to find you."

"That's what we were thinking." Sam said, taking the one chair provided for visitors. "We were hoping we might be able to contact you somehow once we found the djinn, but it didn't work, so we've been looking into the djinn. Trying to figure out who it is, and where it might be holding Meredith."

"Yeah, but that's not easy when she's here." Dream Dean said.

"That's why I'm here." Real Dean said, looking back at his girlfriend. "I need you to help me out, Mere."

"How?"

"Did you get out?"

She nodded. "That's how I ended up here. I stabbed myself in the heart, and I guess the djinn twisted it so that I missed, and they dropped me in the psych ward because they thought I was going crazy. Apparently it was all very sudden so Kim called you...them."

"Okay, well, I need you to get out again." Real Dean said. "I used African Dream Root to get here, and I can use it to come back, but I need you to wake up and try to look around a little. Any little detail might help. Can you do that?"

"I did it once already."

"Do you remember anything from the first time?" Sam asked.

She shook her head. "No. The djinn was right there when I woke up and I barely had time to realize I was awake before he knocked me out again."

"Then let's try again." Real Dean said. "I'll give you an hour. I don't know what that translates to here, but I promise I'll be back."

She smiled at him, reaching for his hand. "Haven't I already told you not to make that promise?"

"Have I ever not come back?"

Dream Dean couldn't help but see the love between the two and it made him feel awkward as Real Dean leaned in to kiss her, a real kiss and not just a peck on the cheek, and then pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the heart.

 **And that's how a Winchester shows his love. Poor Meredith. I kind of feel sorry for Dream Dean too. He's falling in love and he can't even enjoy it because he's not real. And major points to Kim for handling killing a lamb and telling her husband the truth so well. The truth telling I'd have been fine with, but the lamb killing would've been a little less easy for me. Okay, a lot. It was fun to get to see that side of her though. These girls don't mess around when it comes to family. ~SG**


	8. Chapter 8

**Enter the amazing Chris Wood as this story's guest star. Oh, Kai, how I wish you weren't dead even though I'm glad you are. And yes, I know that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Deal with it.**

Chapter 8

Meredith felt weak when she opened her eyes, probably from blood loss, and it took some effort to lift her head. When she did she saw a rather handsome man that appeared to be in his late twenties. He smiled at her when he saw that she was awake and it was one of those smiles that sent a chill down her spine.

"You _are_ a fighter, aren't you, Ms. Fairchild?" he said. "Oh. I'm sorry. It's Mrs. Mitchell now, right? Or is it _Ms._ Mitchell? You do remember me, don't you?"

She looked at him again, and realized that she _did_ know him. He had been in one of her classes during her second year of teaching. He had been seventeen at the time, and she remembered him being one of her smartest students and also the creepiest. She had always suspected that he was a sociopath. "Alec. You're a djinn?"

"Yep." he said, grinning again. "Had you fooled, didn't I? Of course, I've learned some surprising things about you lately too. Like the fact that you're shacked up with one of the hunters that killed my uncle and cousins, which worked out really well for me. You shacking up with the hunter, not the hunter killing my family."

She was sitting in an uncomfortable wooden chair with her feet tied to the legs and her wrists tied to the arms. There was heavier rope wrapped around her torso, binding her to the back of the chair so that she couldn't move. There was a tube attached to the inside of her elbow just like in the dream world, but instead of an IV this tube was draining her blood into a bag that was rigged up beside her. She watched as Alec unhooked the tubing from the bag and used it like a straw to take a few sips as if she were a giant milkshake or something.

"Your blood is delicious, by the way." he said as he hooked her up to a new bag. "It'll be a shame when I'm all out."

"You know this is a losing battle for you, right?" she asked.

"Not really." Alec said. "Dean may kill me, but at least I'll die knowing that he never found you in time."

Before she could say anything else he reached out with his hand surrounded in a cloud of glowing blue light and sent her back to her dream world. When she woke up again she was back in her hospital bed and her sister was asleep in the chair she had last seen Sam in.

"Kim." she called quietly, and then tried again, her voice coming out stronger. "Kim."

Kim roused from her nap and smiled at her. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"I want to go home." Meredith said as her sister moved from the chair to the edge of the bed.

"Sam and Dean told me what's going on." Kim said.

"So, you believe that I'm not crazy?"

"I never thought you were." Kim said. "That's why I called Sam when Jake told me what happened that night. People don't just snap all of a sudden like that. There are signs leading up to it. When Jake told me how desperate you were to get a hold of Dean I knew it had to be something Sam could probably handle. Of course, I wasn't expecting him to bring Dean with him."

"Where are they?"

"They caught a case nearby, but they should be back soon." she said. "It's just a simple haunting. Were you able to figure out where the djinn's keeping you?"

"No." Meredith said. "It looked like some old barn though, but there's old barns all over the country, so I don't think that helps much."

"It's better than nothing."

"I know who it is though."

"The djinn?"

Meredith nodded. "Yeah. One of my old students. That creepy Alec kid. He seems pretty confident that I'll be dead before Dean can find me, and based on how weak I felt I think I might be a little shorter on time than we thought."

"So, what, we just wait for your Dean to come back?" Kim asked.

"I'm not sure what else we _can_ do, Kim."

"What if we killed the djinn here?"

Meredith shrugged. "I have no idea."

"I'll call Sam and see if he thinks it would do any good."

%%%

"No." Dean said as he drove the Impala back toward Bristol Ridge. They had taken care of the ghost with no problem, which was a little unusual, and now they had Kim on speaker phone and Dean didn't like her idea.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because we don't know what'll happen if we try it." he explained. "If we kill the djinn here, it might kill him there too, and for all we know your sister will end up trapped here forever. Or dead. It's too risky."

"We have to do something." Kim insisted.

"Dean's right, Kim." Sam said. "He never actually killed Alec's uncle in his dream world, so we don't know what the side effects of something like that would be."

"The other me said he'd give her an hour." Dean added. "For now Meredith's safe in this world as long as she doesn't die in the real world. All we can do is wait."

"But how many of our days is one of their hours?" Kim asked.

"I don't know." Dean said. "But unless something happens to him he'll be back. I know me. And if he doesn't show up someone else will. Don't you think you or Jake would step in if something happened to me?"

"Jake probably doesn't know anything." Kim said. "He doesn't here."

"Well, we just have to let them handle it." Sam said. "There's really nothing else we can do, Kim."

%%%

Dean couldn't help but smile as he came to a stop just outside the doorway of Meredith's room. Sam had dropped him off and gone to get food, and Dean simply stood there and watched the scene for a while. Meredith was still in her hospital bed hooked up to an IV and other machines that were monitoring her vitals, and she was still in the psych ward due to the second suicide attempt, which was technically a murder, but she seemed to be doing just fine. Corey was snuggled up beside her, and she was playing a game of Go Fish with Kim while Dylan and Rowan were perched on the big air conditioning unit that spanned the entire length of the room, doing their homework with the window blinds open to let in the afternoon sun. Balloons, flowers, and cards decorated the room and despite the location and the circumstances it was a perfectly happy scene.

He knew that she was still happily married to Jake in this world, but he understood why the real world version of him had fallen in love with her. What he couldn't understand is how he had managed to settle down with her given the life he had led. Semi-retired or not he came with a lot of baggage, and her life hadn't been a picnic either. There were a lot of dark things in their pasts, and he couldn't help but wonder how they made that work. Or how they were going to bring a baby into it.

Watching her with Dylan, Rowan, and Corey he could tell that she was going to make a great mother, but he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that it was his baby she was going to be mothering. Well, not _his_ baby, but still.

He'd always wanted kids of his own. For a while now at least, and he thought it would be nice to have them with Meredith, but after what had happened with Ben and Lisa, was it possible? _He_ didn't think he could make it work, but maybe Real Dean was different. Maybe Real Dean had really found a way to be half hunter and half husband. Or...whatever he was to her. And maybe, just maybe, he could be a successful father too. It was a nice thought but he shoved it away when Meredith looked up and smiled back at him.

"Hey." he said, thankful that he didn't sound as choked up as he suddenly felt.

"Hey." she said. "How'd the ghost hunting go?"

"Easy." he said, stepping into the room. "How'd you know which one I am?"

She gathered up the cards and patted them into a straight deck. "Because I know Dean Winchester pretty damn well, and that look on your face just then isn't quite the same look I get back home. It's close though."

He thought he had a pretty good poker face, but apparently it wasn't as good as he thought. Then again, he wasn't used to trying to hide his feelings from a woman that was apparently very much in love with him.

He cleared his throat, ignoring that last comment of hers, and took the empty chair in the corner. "Has yours popped back in yet?"

"Nope." Kim said, sounding as if she doubted he would.

Meredith glanced at her sister, and reprimanded her indirectly. "But I have faith that he will. You probably know him about as well as I do."

"Yep, and nothing short of death is gonna stop him from finding you." Dean agreed. "Actually, that might not even be enough."

"What are you guys talking about?" Rowan asked, speaking for the first time since Dean had entered the room.

The adults had gotten used to talking about this stuff in front of Corey because he was too young to really understand, and they had completely forgotten that the older kids were in the room because they had both been so quiet. Now Dylan and Rowan were gazing at them expectantly.

"Nothing." Meredith and Kim said at the same time.

"It doesn't sound like nothing." Dylan said.

"It's nothing you two need to worry about." Dean said. "Finish your homework."

Meredith smiled. He was still the same Dean, even if he wasn't the real Dean.

Corey squirmed beside her, and she felt that familiar pang as she was reminded that she was going to have to leave him.

"Actually," Kim said, sensing that Meredith's mood was shifting. "Why don't we all go down to the cafeteria and get some ice cream?"

All three kids scrambled out of the room after Kim, and Meredith was able to move back into a more comfortable position. She loved having Corey, but a hospital bed wasn't exactly the best place for snuggling.

"You okay over there?" Dean asked.

"Just reminding myself that I can't stay here." she replied dryly.

"Leaving can't be all bad." he said. "You get to go home to me."

Meredith couldn't help but smile at that. "True, but I wish I could take Corey with me."

"I don't think that's possible, but can I put my two cents in on a similar subject?"

"Well, if it's what I think it is I guess you're technically entitled."

"I don't know you quite as well as he does, but I think I have a pretty good idea of what you're considering doing." he said as he got up and moved to sit beside her on the bed. "And I get why. Don't."

"I think that's a little more than two cents."

"I'm not trying to butt in where I don't belong." He said. "Actually, I'm not sure if I belong here or not, but this is _your_ dream, so maybe this is your subconscious trying to get you to listen to reason or something."

"Alec created all of this." she argued.

Dean shook his head. "Technically, but he only changed one detail of your life. He made it so that Corey lived, and that changed everything else. He made it happen, but it's still happening inside _your_ head. And maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this is all me, but either way I think you need to take my opinion into consideration. I know I'm not your Dean, but I'm just another version of him. There's not much difference between us, is there?"

"No. Not that I've noticed."

"Okay. Well, if the woman I loved was pregnant with my kid I'd want to know. No matter what. Whether she decided to abort it, of it was a miscarriage, or a stillbirth, or whatever. What?" She looked like he had just slapped her, and it scared him, making him think maybe he had spoken too . "Mere? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." she said. "I just...I've been thinking about it. I just never actually put the word to it. That makes the whole pregnancy thing seem more...real."

"I'm sorry if I just made it harder for you." Dean apologized. "I didn't mean to. I just don't want you to make a choice you'll regret."

She knew he wasn't talking about ending the pregnancy. A lot of people would be, but he was talking about doing it without telling Dean about the baby and letting him have some input into what she chose to do. And he was right. Ultimately it was her choice, but Dean should at least have the chance to share his thoughts on the subject. It was his child too after all, and how would he feel if he found out she had kept it from him after the fact? It would probably crush him, and she simply couldn't stand the thought of breaking his heart like that.

Hot tears began to fall silently down her face, and she suddenly realized just how much time she had spent crying in her life. Very rarely was she shedding happy tears.

Dean, bless his heart, slipped his arm around her and placed a comforting kiss on her forehead. Even though he wasn't the real Dean she still felt safe and loved, and she buried her face against his shoulder like she had done so many times outside of her head. He rested his cheek on her head, and that's how Jake found them when he finally showed up.

"Meredith?" he said, his voice full of concern at seeing his wife crying as he rushed into the room. "What's wrong?"

Dean didn't want to move when the other man shooed him away. Jake may be her husband in this world, but she was still the same person here as she was in the real world, and Jake wasn't the one she needed right now. But he had a feeling that if he refused to move it might start a fight, and that was the last thing she needed right now. So he got up and left the room, giving them some privacy but staying just outside the door because he couldn't bring himself to truly leave her. He hoped she could sense that he was still nearby if she needed him.

Meredith didn't want Dean to leave her even though she was pretty sure he hadn't gone far, and she didn't want Jake to touch her, but she didn't pull away when he reached for her hand to try to comfort her, something he could no longer do. Actually, it was something he had never really been able to do. He tried, but he had simply never been the one she needed.

"What's wrong?" he asked again.

She couldn't tell him the truth. Unless she wanted to spend the rest of her time in this world with him thinking she was crazy. "I'm fine." she insisted instead.

"You're crying." he said. "You're not fine."

"Do you really care?" she accused. "You had no problem sticking me in the loony bin after one breakdown."

"First of all, you're in a hospital, not the loony bin."

"A hospital _psych ward_ , Jake!" she shouted. "It's the same thing!"

"What should I have done, Meredith?" he demanded. "You started screaming that nothing was real, and then you tried to kill yourself. Which you've done twice now. How did you even get a knife in here?"

"Really?" Dean said as he charged back into the room, unable to stay out of it any longer. " _That's_ your main concern right now? How she got a hold of a knife?"

"No." Jake said. "I'm concerned that there's something wrong with my wife."

"I'm not crazy." she insisted, sounding like she was tired of fighting. "I just want to go home."

"I just talked to the doctor." Jake said. "He wants you to talk to the psychiatrist a few more times just to make sure this isn't premature, but you've been doing so well since you got here other than that one incident. If the psychiatrist okays it they're thinking about letting you come home soon. I want you home, Meredith. I want you to be okay. We've got a baby on the way, and—Meredith? Hey, what's wrong?"

She was crying again. "Can you just leave?"

"You want to be alone?" he asked, sounding as if he didn't think that was a good idea.

"No." she said. "I don't want to be alone. I want to be with Dean. Please leave."

The next thing Dean knew Jake's fist was plowing into his face.

"Dean!" Meredith shrieked.

Jake stalked out of the room without another word, and Meredith would have rushed to Dean's side if she had been able to get up without the fear of tearing open her stitches.

"Oh my god." she gasped when she saw the blood gushing out of Dean's broken nose. She stabbed at the call button and willed a nurse to answer immediately, but of course that didn't happen.

Dean crossed the room and sat back down in the chair, leaning his head back in an attempt to stop the bleeding just as Sam came in with a take out bag.

"I just passed Jake, and he looks pretty pissed." Sam said, clearly about to ask what had happened, but he caught sight of his brother. "Dean!"

"I'm fine, Sammy." Dean said, his voice muffled by his hand and blood. "This isn't the first time I've had my nose broken."

"Can I help you, Mrs. Mitchell?" a nurse's cheerful voice crackled over the speaker.

"Can we get a nurse in here?" Meredith requested. "Like now?"

"What's wrong?"

She was so tired of hearing that question. "My husband's fist broke my friend's nose."

 **Oh, Jake. So jealous. Don't you know that's not healthy? And yes, I went down the abortion road. I've already stated my stand on the issue in "Aria's Choice", but I'll say it again for those you that haven't read that story simply because this is a touchy subject. I am NOT pro-abortion. I am pro-choice. In my opinion the only acceptable reason for an abortion is rape, and even then I don't think I could personally do it. But I do support a woman's right to make her own choice. If I ever found myself in a situation that required that particular decision I would hope that my friends and family would respect me enough to let me make my own choices about my own body. And that's all I have to say about that. ~SG**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A few days later, in what Meredith had come to think of as Djinnland, she was out of the hospital and back at the house. The doctors had given her medication she didn't need and she had had to agree to regular visits to a psychiatrist, which she hoped she wouldn't have time to get to, and Jake didn't want her anywhere near the Winchesters. She understood why, seeing as he apparently thought she was having an affair with Dean even though everyone insisted the two hadn't had any contact in years until he had shown up in her hospital room. And, of course, Sam and Dean weren't comfortable with leaving her so they were staying with Kim and Rowan, but Jake wasn't happy about it.

Other than his distaste for the Winchesters and his new found suspicion that the baby wasn't his, Jake was being very attentive to her. It was almost exactly like it had been when they had been married, except now he was even less right for her, and was very quickly getting on her nerves whether he meant to or not. She had snapped at him several times and then apologized for it because she knew he was only trying to take care of her, and was probably afraid he was going to lose her in one way or another.

And the boys had been wonderful. Especially Corey. Even though this was all against her will, and Alec seemed certain she wasn't going to make it she was grateful for this weird turn of events that had allowed her to have some time with her son. And no matter what Alec was certain of she knew her family. Dean and Kim wouldn't stop until they found her, and she knew Jake would be on board too if they told him what was really going on. She also knew herself, and she wasn't about to go down without a fight. But there wasn't much she could actually do, so she was patiently waiting for her hour to be up so she could help with her own rescue.

She was reading alone under the oak tree out front when Dean sat down in the grass beside her and kissed her cheek. She smiled. "Careful. Jake's inside, and he's not exactly your biggest fan."

Dean shrugged. "What's new?"

She had known without a doubt that he was her Dean, but that confirmed it.

"What'd I do to set him off here?"

"Nothing." she said. "I was upset in the hospital and asked him to leave because I wanted to be with you...well...as close to you as I could get here."

"He just can't win, can he?"

"I don't know, I think Real Jake's pretty happy other than that whole not liking you thing." she said. "This Jake broke Dream Dean's nose, and now he thinks I'm having an affair with him. But he's being a perfect husband anyway, and it might actually drive me crazy. Can you please get me out of here?"

"Where are you?" Dean asked.

"In some old barn, being held prisoner by one of my old students."

Dean's eyebrows quirked up in surprise. "You had a djinn in your class?"

She nodded. "An apparently sociopathic djinn that's pretty pissed at you for killing his uncle and cousins. I'm guessing I wasn't his favorite teacher either. I think he's getting just a little bit too much enjoyment out of killing me for it to just be about getting back at you."

"That only gives me more of a reason to kill him."

Meredith smiled and leaned against him, prompting him to slip his arm around her even though it was probably a bad idea given their current setting. "I miss you."

Dean kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry. I'll find you."

"I know you will."

"You know you're gonna have to die again for me to get out of here, right?"

She nodded. "Sadly, I'm fresh out of knives."

"Lucky for you I never am."

Meredith knew it couldn't be easy for him to kill her like this, but she wasn't sure she could do it herself again. She kissed him just in case she didn't get another chance, and decided that if she didn't make it out of this she was going to take Corey and run off with Dream Dean because she deserved to be happy if she was going to die anyway. "I love you."

"I'll see you soon." he said, understanding what was going through her mind because he knew her so well. He didn't like it, and he wasn't willing to admit that he might not get her back.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jake's angry voice demanded as he stood over them.

"Saving my girlfriend." Dean replied and plunged his knife into Meredith's chest once more.

%%%

"Where is she?" Kim demanded as soon as Dean woke up.

"In some barn." he replied. "She knows the djinn. He was one of her students."

"Who?"

"She didn't give me a name. Just said he was a sociopath."

"Alec." Kim said.

"He's probably keeping her out at the old Weston farm." Jake said. "Isn't that where Travis caught those devil worshipers not too long ago?"

Kim nodded. "Yeah, and Alec was with them, but that doesn't mean he's there now."

"It's the best lead we've got." Dean said as he got up and looked at Jake. "You coming with me?"

"Wait." Kim protested. "Why him? I know more about this stuff than he does."

"But you don't have military training." Jake reminded her. "You stay here and make sure the kids are safe. Dean and I will find Meredith."

Kim wanted to argue, but saw no sense in it, so she simply nodded and headed back home where she checked on her children to make sure they were both still okay. Once she knew they were safe she went back downstairs, fixed herself a cup of coffee, and waited for Jake and Dean to bring her sister home.

Dean grabbed the jar of lamb's blood and two silver knives on the way out, feeling only slightly weird about going into a hunt with Jake instead of Sam. "You sure you can handle this?"

"As long as you're sure we can bring Meredith home safe and sound."

Dean didn't respond because he knew he couldn't make that promise. Instead he just put the Impala in reverse and peeled out of the yard.

There was no sign of Meredith or Alec at the Weston farm, but there was another smaller farm just down the road, and by some miracle, or perhaps stupidity on Alec's part, it happened to be the right one. They left Baby at the Weston farm and Dean explained the plan quickly to his new partner before they silently crept up to the dilapidated old barn, attempting to take Alec by surprise.

But Alec surprised them.

He grabbed Jake from behind, trying to send him to dreamland, but Dean was faster with his machete than Alec was with his hand thanks to Jake's struggling. Seconds before Jake was out of the fight Alec's hand had been severed, and lay bleeding on the ground at his feet while the young djinn screamed in pain.

"Your family couldn't beat me." Dean shouted as he punched Alec in the face simply because he could. "You think you can?"

"I don't see Sam anywhere." Alec said, gritting his teeth through the pain. "And I don't think Army Man over there knows much about my kind, does he?"

"I know enough." Jake said, lunging at the young man he now knew was a monster.

Alec ducked out of the way just in time, but Jake's knife still sliced his arm open. His skin burned from the silver and lamb's blood as it worked it's way into his system.

"You go find Mere." Dean ordered as Jake pushed himself back to his feet, ready to take another stab at the djinn. "I got him."

Jake took a moment to take in the hardened look of pure hatred and anger on Dean's face. He had seen similar expressions in battle, but this was different. This was more. This was the face of a man that had spent his entire life doing things just like this. This was the face of a man that knew what he was doing, and had no fear of dying in the process. This was the stone cold face of a killer who's family had been threatened too many times. Alec didn't stand a chance.

Dean barely registered Jake ducking into the barn to find Meredith. All his anger and energy were focused on Alec. "You should know better than to mess with a Winchester by now."

The statement was directed at the world in general, and Dean didn't waste any more time as he shot forward and plowed into the djinn, knocking him roughly to the ground. "You mess with my family, you die. That's just how this game works."

Alec struggled for a moment, trying to get free, but Dean had his one remaining hand pinned to the ground with his knee, and the djinn wasn't fast enough or strong enough to throw the angry hunter off before the blade of his knife pierced his heart.

"Take Baby. Get her to the hospital." Dean ordered as Jake emerged from the barn with Meredith in his arms. "I'll take care of the body and have Kim come pick me up."

Jake nodded and carried his former wife's nearly lifeless body across the patchy grass to where the Impala waited at the neighboring farm.

"Dean." she mumbled as he gently placed her in the backseat.

A few years ago that probably would have broken his heart, but now the only thing that broke his heart was the fact that she had been hurt. And now that he had seen the lengths Dean Winchester was willing to go to to keep her safe he simply couldn't hate the guy anymore.

"Dean." she said again.

"He'll be here soon." Jake said as he put the car in drive and headed for the hospital.

%%%

As Dean buried the body and the hand he thought about leaving. He could have Cas wipe everyone's memories like he had done with Ben and Lisa, and he could go back to his old life hunting with Sam and living in the bunker. He would happily break his own heart if it meant that Meredith would stay safe.

But he knew that wouldn't necessarily be the case. Yes, he seemed to be a magnet for evil, but who said every monster that came after her would be looking for revenge against him? The reason he was in her life was because Hanna Durant had been looking for revenge against her killer. Her reasons for wanting Meredith dead had nothing to do with Dean, and if something else happened...wouldn't she be better off if he was there to protect her?

He had been able to leave Ben and Lisa and make them forget he ever existed, and as much as part of him wanted to do the same with Meredith and the Mitchells, he just couldn't do it. Not again. Meredith was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he was far too stubborn to leave now. He was in too deep and he wanted to know what the future held for him if he stayed. Misery was the only thing he could see if he left.

Kim pulled up just then and Dean pushed aside all thoughts of abandoning his family.

"How is she?" he asked as he climbed into the passenger seat of her little Prius.

"Not good." Kim said honestly. "She's barely hanging on, but the doctors think if they can get enough blood in her she'll be able to pull through. How are you?"

"Not good."

He was even worse when they got to the hospital and the doctor told him only family was allowed to go back and see Meredith.

"He _is_ family." Kim said firmly, clearly ready to fight if the doctor continued to try and keep Dean from seeing her sister.

The doctor opened his mouth, perhaps to protest, but Jake laid a hand on the hunter's shoulder and looked the doctor squarely in the eye. "Right now he's the only family that matters. If you want your patient to pull through you won't argue with us about this, because as much as she needs that transfusion she needs him more."

Quickly realizing it was a loosing battle the doctor gave in and let Dean go back with the Mitchell family.

"Thanks." Dean said to Jake as they walked.

"I only told him the truth." Jake replied.

"And that, my friends," Kim said as she slipped her arm around her husband's waist. "Is what we call progress."

Dean smiled as his phone rang, and hung back to answer it. It was Sam. "How's it goin' with those wolves?"

"Dead." Sam said. "We managed to take care of them with a little help from Claire."

"You pulled Claire in?"

"We didn't have a choice, Dean." Sam said. "It was more than Garth and I could handle on our own. She's fine. We're all fine. How's Meredith?"

"I'm on my way to her hospital room right now." Dean replied, smiling. "She lost a lot of blood, but the doctor says she should be okay once they get some more in her. And Jake says she'll be okay as long as I'm there."

"I thought Jake didn't like you."

"I guess he finally realized what a dick he was being."

"Well, Claire and I are headed out there as soon as we get packed up."

"Then I guess I'll see you soon." Dean said and hung up, hurrying to Meredith's room. It was the only place he wanted to be right now.

 **Awww! So, Real Jake was just being protective of his family, and not jealous of Dean's relationship with Meredith. At least, not completely. I'm sure there's at least a little jealousy involved there if he's figured out that whole he was essentially an unintentional Dean Winchester stand-in thing. But maybe they can start to be friends now.**

 **There's only a few more chapters of this story left, and it may be a while before the next one's ready. I have at least two more planned for this series, and I've been struggling with which one should come next, but I think I've finally got it worked out. Now I just have to get it written. But seeing as I'm going through one of those weird phases where my muse is simultaneously ubber productive (lots of ideas going on in my head) and ubber lazy/overworked and confused (perhaps too many ideas going on in my head)...well, we'll just have to see what happens I suppose. ~SG**

 **P.S. Don't forget to check out "Beautiful Soldier" by ArtistKurai and "Deans, Dreams, and Troubadours" by GilmoreGirl95, aka my two current favorite fics.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Jake, Kim, and the kids had gone home, and Sam and Claire had arrived faster than Dean had expected them to. They had come straight to the hospital, and Dean had sent them back to the house after a while only to have them come right back as soon as they were settled in. Sam was asleep in an uncomfortable chair, using his jacket as a pillow, and Claire had made herself a little pallet on top of the air conditioner. She had stayed awake for a long time, hoping to be awake when Meredith woke up, but had lost the fight and was now sleeping soundly. She had kicked the blanket off, however, and since she was lying on top of a vent that was blowing out cold air Dean pulled it back over her even though there was a layer of pillows and blankets between the vent and her body.

Meredith had been given something to keep her from having a bad reaction to the transfusion, and now she was hooked up to a bag feeding blood into her body through a tube. She was still asleep and she looked so frail. Her coloring was off due to the amount of blood she had lost, nearly enough to kill her, and it killed Dean to see her this way. But the doctors and nurses were positive she would pull through. So far there hadn't been any bumps in the road, and Dean was just waiting to hear the results of whatever tests they had run to make sure she was truly going to be okay. He was pretty sure one of them was a rape kit.

A nurse bustled in to check Meredith's vitals for what felt like the millionth time. Her name was Stacy, and not so long ago Dean probably would have hit on her.

"She finally konked out, huh?" Stacy asked, nodding at Claire.

"Yeah." Dean said from his place in the extra chair they had brought in, trying to stay awake himself. "They flew in from California. Jet lag."

"It's a bitch, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't know." Dean said. "I've been on a plane a total of three times in my life, and I prefer to stay on the ground, thank you."

Stacy smiled. "My brother's the same way. I'm not so crazy about it either, but it sure is faster than driving."

"Yeah, but you get to see more when you drive."

"True."

"How is she?"

"Doing good." Stacy said. "Miss Meredith's a fighter."

Dean smiled tiredly. "She sure is."

Stacy started to leave, having finished her job, but stayed to hear what the doctor had to say when he appeared.

"Mr. Winchester."

"Dr. Coulter." Dean said pleasantly. "Got an update for me?"

"All the tests came back looking good." Dr. Coulter said, smiling. "Looks like both Meredith and the baby are going to be just fine."

Dean froze. He was almost certain he could actually feel the blood drain out of his face and down to his toes. "I'm sorry. Did you say _baby_?"

Stacy stifled a giggle at his shocked reaction.

Dr. Coulter looked apologetic. "You didn't know?"

"No." Dean said. "I didn't know."

"Well, she's only about a month along." the middle aged man said. "She might not have known herself. Or maybe she was planning to surprise you. I hope I didn't ruin anything."

"I'm definitely surprised." Dean said. No matter when or how she told him he would be surprised, but he was pretty sure if someone plucked one of Cas' feathers right now they could easily use it to knock him over. "You're sure it's okay though?"

Dr. Coulter nodded. "Everything looks fine. We're gonna keep an eye on things while she's here, but you'll probably want to take her for a check up as soon as she's released, and don't miss any. You don't want to miss them anyway, but in this situation I think it's best to err on the side of caution. Make sure she follows all her doctors orders. She should be fine, but with her history—"

"What history?" Dean asked, cutting the other man off.

Dr. Coulter realized he'd said too much once again. "That's probably something she'd rather tell you herself. It's nothing to be too alarmed about though. I assure you she's fine. If you have any questions or concerns please let us know."

Dean thanked the doctor and both he and Stacy left the room. Dean wanted to get up and go over to Meredith, but his legs wouldn't work, so he simply stared at her in shock from across the room. He wasn't sure exactly what he was feeling right now other than being completely bowled over at the news he had just been given.

Sam stirred in his chair and sat up. "Is everything okay?" he asked when he saw Dean's face. "You look freaked out."

"Maybe because I just found out I'm gonna be a father in about eight months."

Sam was wide awake now. "She's pregnant?"

Dean nodded. "According to the doctor they're both fine, but he said something about her history."

"What history?"

"I don't know." Dean said. "He decided to leave that part to her, but I'm freaking out a little. What if it's something bad, Sam? What if—"

"What did the doctor say?"

"That she's fine."

"Then that's what we're gonna go with." Sam said. "There's no sense in getting freaked out when you don't have all the information. Talk to her when she wakes up."

Dean nodded, relaxing a tiny bit. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

"And in the meantime, congratulations." Sam said, breaking into a grin.

Dean grinned too. He couldn't help it. He was going to be a father.

%%%

When Meredith opened her eyes she wasn't sure where she was. She was obviously in a hospital room, but the last thing she remembered was Dean killing her in the dream to wake her up. She didn't know if he had found her and she was in a real hospital, or if Alec had dropped her back into dreamland and she was back in the psych ward on suicide watch. Again.

The room was empty except for Dean who had fallen asleep in a chair, and after watching him shove a knife into her heart she was pretty sure Dream Jake wouldn't be letting any version of Dean anywhere near her ever again. So this must be real, but she still wasn't sure.

She didn't have the energy or the inclination to sit up so she simply looked around the room. It wasn't the same one she had been in in the dream, but there wasn't much to differentiate between the two. The only thing that was really different was the view out the window. There was an empty chair in the corner, making her think there had been more people here at one point in order to prompt the nurses to bring in extra seating, and it looked like someone had been sleeping on the pile of blankets and pillows on the air conditioning unit.

"Dean." she called, trying to wake him up even though he probably needed the sleep. She wanted some answers, and she needed to be near him. Closer than she was now with him all the way across the room. "Dean."

He stirred a little, but didn't wake up, so she groped around on the bedside tray and found a pen which she threw at his head. "Dean."

"Knock it off, Sam." Dean grumbled as he woke.

Meredith smiled. "Not Sam."

A grin spread across his still sleepy face. "Hey, you're awake."

Her main question of which world she was currently in was answered when he got up and moved to sit on the side of her bed, leaning forward and placing a kiss on her forehead, but just to be sure...

"Are you real?" she asked.

Dean smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear, moving it out of her face. "Yeah, baby, I'm real. The djinn's dead, and you're safe. How do you feel?"

"Lousy."

"You lost a lot of blood, but the doctor says you're gonna be just fine." he explained, taking her hand because he just needed to touch her. "They're gonna keep you for a couple of days, and then you can come home."

She could see that he was fighting hard not to cry, and squeezed his hand. "Need a hug?"

Dean laughed a little, the sound bordering on being a sob, and smiled at her. "Yeah. I think a hug would be good right about now."

He helped her sit up some and they wrapped their arms around each other carefully so they wouldn't disturb any of the tubes and cords that were attached to her body. And then Dean lost the battle against his tears.

He buried his face in her hair and tried not to hold on too tight because he didn't want to hurt her, but at the moment he was afraid to let go of her. They were both well aware of what was going through his head, so he didn't bother trying to speak. He had almost lost her, and even though she would never blame him it _was_ his fault. Alec probably never would have come after her if it hadn't been for Dean. But she was safe now, and at the moment that was all that mattered.

"I thought about leaving." he admitted once he had finally stopped crying and let her lay back down. "While I was getting rid of the body. I wanted to. I wanted to have Cas wipe your memory and just leave."

She understood why. Part of him still thought she would be better off without him. "Why didn't you?"

Another tear fell and he sniffed as he wiped it away. "Because I love you too much to leave you. I keep thinking that you'd be safer if I wasn't here. Evil things are always gonna be part of my life, and they know all they have to do to hurt me is threaten my family. But just because I'm gone doesn't mean you won't still end up in trouble, and I'd rather be here to protect you if something else happens. Besides, what kind of jerk would I be if I left you to raise our baby alone?"

"You know about the baby?"

Dean nodded. "They ran some tests to make sure you're okay, and found out that you're pregnant. So they ran some more tests to make sure the baby's okay, and then your doctor accidentally let the cat out of the bag. He didn't know I didn't know, and boy was I shocked."

"Is it okay?" she asked, terrified of his answer. She didn't think she could stand it if it was bad news.

Dean smiled. "The baby's fine. Everything's fine."

She was so relieved she started crying and then she started laughing. "God, I'm so sick of crying! This is ridiculous!"

Dean reached out and wiped away her tears and then leaned in to kiss her.

"I would've told you about the baby." she said. "But I'd only known for a few days before Alec grabbed me."

"What are you apologizing for?" he asked. "I'm not upset that you didn't tell me. Dr. Coulter said you're only about a month along. I figured if you knew you hadn't known for long."

"I also wasn't sure I was going to keep it." she admitted, hating the look on Dean's face when her words sank in. He looked confused and surprised and hurt all at the same time.

"Why wouldn't you keep it?"

Meredith took a deep breath and let the truth spill out. "I've been pregnant before, Dean. Twice."

But she didn't have any kids of her own, and Dean could only imagine what she'd been through. "Dr. Coulter mentioned something about your history, but said I should probably hear it from you. You don't have to tell me."

"No. I want to." she said. "You need to know."

He wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he nodded anyway. "Okay."

"When I found out I was pregnant the first time I was so excited. So was everyone else, and the news spread like wildfire. I think it only took two or three days for everyone in town to hear about it after Jake and I told Kim and the kids." she said, a wistful smile on her face. "And then I miscarried. I wasn't even two months in when it happened, and we were all broken up about it, but we tried again. And I got pregnant again, but this time we kept it in the family until we knew everything was going to be okay. And everything was fine until about eight months in. I went into labor about a month sooner than I should have, and the baby didn't make it. He was stillborn."

Dean was speechless. Nothing he could say or do could make that go away or hurt any less.

"We buried him, and then Kim and I went back that night and burned him. I was afraid he'd end up haunting me or something." Dean's grip tightened ever so slightly on her hand, and she could see in his eyes how his heart was breaking for her. "I went to a bunch of different doctors, and none of them could find anything wrong with me. But I'd lost two babies already, and when I found out I was pregnant this time...I don't think I can handle losing another one, Dean. I think it would kill me. I've always wanted kids of my own, and I know you want a family, but...I...I want this baby so bad, Dean, but I'm so scared of what might happen."

"Nothing's gonna happen." he promised as he gathered her back into his arms. He knew it was a promise he probably shouldn't make, but he couldn't let himself think of this going bad. Not now. "You and the baby are both gonna be just fine. I promise you I will do everything in my power to make sure of that. Okay?"

Meredith couldn't reply. All she could do was cry because she knew there was nothing anyone could do to fix it if it wasn't meant to be. And he knew more than she did about destiny and fate.

"That was my wish." she said. "That Corey had lived. And part of me wanted to stay in that world with him, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't stay because if Corey had lived I wouldn't have you, and that's not a life I want to live. I want this life with you, Dean, and I want to have a family with you."

"That sounds like a good life to me." he said and kissed her. "Everything's gonna be okay, Mere. Whatever happens, we'll get through it."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him once more.

"I love you." he said quietly in her ear.

She smiled. "Okay."

 **I really need to stop giving myself so many feels. And I really need to stop doing it when I'm already emotional. Are you guys a mess right now too, or is it just me? ~SG**


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

 _Two weeks later..._

Dean was excited. Meredith could see it in every move he made. Like now, for instance. They had just walked out of the doctor's office after a check-up, and there was a smile on his face and a bit of a skip in his step. He no longer looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and that alone was enough to lift her spirits. It didn't hurt that the doctor had informed them that both she and the baby were doing just fine. She still had a fear of losing this baby like she had the others, but for some reason she felt more hopeful now. Not because the doctors assured her there was nothing wrong, but because this baby was Dean's, and if anyone was going to beat the odds it would be a Winchester.

"I think it's gonna be a girl." Dean announced as he opened the passenger door of the Impala for her.

Meredith paused on the sidewalk before sliding into the car and looked at him curiously. They still had at least six weeks before they would be able to find out the sex of the baby. "What makes you think that?"

"I don't know." Dean said, shrugging. "I just feel like it's gonna be a girl. I'd like to have a little girl."

Meredith smiled and placed a soft kiss on his lips, her hand resting on is chest for a moment. "I think it's gonna be a girl too." She couldn't explain why, but like Dean, she just had a feeling. "And I think _you_ are going to make a great father."

Dean smiled. "Thanks."

He kissed her and shut the door once she was safely inside the car before jogging around to the driver's side and sliding in beside her. When he looked over at her it was clear that her mood had suddenly shifted, and he knew it had nothing to do with the hormones. They had one more stop to make before going home, but they didn't _have_ to make it if she had changed her mind.

"You sure you wanna do this?" he asked. "We can just go home if it's too much for you."

She shook her head. "No. I know it's kind of silly, but I need to do this."

Dean reached across the seat and folded his hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It's not silly. Lots of people do it every day."

She looked at him. Her eyes were dry, but sad. "Those people, whether they believe in Heaven or some kind of afterlife or not, they still believe that they're visiting their loved one. Not just the grave, but the actual person. No matter what they believe happens to you when you die, they don't seem to realize that they're just talking to a rock marking a grave, and there's nothing in that grave but a dead body. They don't realize that the soul is gone. I know for a fact that Corey's not there. I made sure of it. So, why do I feel like I need to go stare at his headstone for a while?"

"Maybe the same reason Sam had to go visit my mom's grave." Dean said. "He knew she wasn't there. He saw what happened to her ghost with his own eyes. I can't say I really understand _why_ he felt he needed to visit her. There wasn't even a body in that grave. But no one's gonna judge you for visiting your son, Mere. Even if he's not there."

She smiled and scooted across the seat to lay her head on his shoulder. Dean wrapped her in a hug and held her for a few moments until she pulled away, apparently feeling better about her decision, and then he started the car and pulled away from the curb, heading toward the church.

%%%

"Today's his birthday." Dean said, suddenly understanding why she had wanted to do this today as he read the date on the stone. Corey would be three today if he had lived. Then he read the name carved above the date and frowned. _Samuel Corey Mitchell_. "And you named him after _Sam_?"

Meredith smiled a little at his slightly indignant reaction to seeing his brother's name on the stone that marked her son's grave. "Sam helped save me too."

"Sam did research and babysat your sister and niece." Dean corrected. " _I_ ganked the ghost and rushed you to the hospital when she shot you. _I'm_ the one that called you after every case for a year."

"Yeah, and you're also the one that died and broke my heart." she added. "I thought about naming him after you, because you're right. Sam helped, but you're the one that saved me. But it hurt too much. I couldn't do it."

"I was only teasing." Dean said apologetically, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close to his side. "I don't really mind that you named him after Sam instead of me."

"I know." she said, and slipped her arm around his waist as they turned and walked away from the grave. She had had her moment, and now she was ready to go home and curl up on the couch with her man. "We can name our baby after you."

"My grandmother was Deanna." he said, sounding as if he didn't like the idea.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing really." Dean said. "I don't really have anything against my grandmother. Mostly because I only met her the one time, but I don't exactly have warm fuzzy memories of that time, and she _did_ raise her daughter to be a hunter. I want our little girl to be able to protect herself, but no way in hell would I ever raise my kids to be hunters. If they choose that life for themselves after they leave home, that's fine, but I won't force it on 'em."

"They?" she asked as they reached the car. "You're planning on having more than one little kit?"

"Well, if it's okay with you, and this one turns out okay I don't see why not."

Meredith smiled and put her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss and smiling through it when his arms closed around her and pulled her closer. She felt so safe, and so loved, and so happy.

"Why don't we name her after you?" Dean suggested when the kiss ended, his arms still wrapped firmly around her. "What's your middle name?"

"My middle name, Dean _Ross_ Winchester, is Katharine." she replied.

Dean's head jerked back slightly, his expression confused and a little surprised. "How do you know _my_ middle name?"

"Obviously you told me."

"When?"

She shrugged, her hands sliding down from behind his neck to rest on his chest. "I don't remember exactly, but you must have or I wouldn't know. I'm not _that_ good at guessing."

Dean shrugged it off. It didn't really matter how she knew. Even if she had gone all fangirl on him and scoured the internet for every piece of information she could find. That would be weird, of course, but as uncomfortable as he was with the idea he was getting used to the whole fangirl thing. _Thanks a lot, Chuck_.

"Katharine Winchester." he said, testing out the name as he leaned back against Baby, pulling her with him. A smile spread across his face. "I like it."

"We can call her Kit!" Meredith said excitedly.

Dean rolled his eyes at yet another squirrel reference, but he actually really liked the name. It wasn't too girly, like Sofia or Chloe, and she probably wouldn't ever have to deal with the confusion of having another kid in her class at school with the same name. And Kit Winchester sounded like a girl that would be able to stand her ground against playground bullies and demons alike.

"What about _her_ middle name?" he asked.

Meredith knew that the lack of objection meant he was okay with calling their daughter Kit despite it's connection to his own despised nickname. "How about _your_ middle name?"

"Katharine _Ross_ Winchester?" he questioned. "Ross is a boy's name."

"Lots of girls have boy names." she pointed out. "Meredith used to be mostly a boy's name. And _you_ , my love, were named after a woman, so why can't we name our daughter Katharine Ross Winchester? Krista Miller wants to name her kid _Trixie_. That sounds like a stripper name. Or a hooker."

"She's gonna have a rough time when she gets to high school." Dean said, unable to stifle the laugh that followed.

Meredith laughed a little too. "And she'll be going to school with Kit, so we won't have to worry about anyone teasing our kid about being named Ross because they'll all be stuffing dollar bills down Trixie Miller's shirt in between classes."

"You really wanna give her my middle name?" Dean asked, pushing thoughts of poor Trixie Miller aside.

Meredith nodded. "I think it's a lovely name."

"Katharine Ross "Kit" Winchester." Dean said, and smiled. "I think you're right."

"Hey!" Meredith exclaimed, a grin spreading across her face. "We just named out baby. We don't even know for certain it's a girl yet."

"Oh, it's a girl." Dean assured her. "I can feel it."

It was cold outside, but Meredith wasn't ready to go anywhere just yet. She turned her head and rested her cheek on Dean's chest, slipping her arms around his waist and simply enjoying the feel of finally having the life she had always dreamed of. A life with Dean Winchester.

 **AWWWW! More feels! And poor Trixie Miller. Let's hope Mr. Miller can convince his wife that Trixie isn't the best name for their little girl. Unfortunately, this is the end of this story, but I am working on the next one. In fact, I have two more planned for this series. The next one will focus more on Sam, but since I'm so very much like Dean it's proving a little difficult. I refuse to give up though because I love what I have planned. Let's just say some familiar faces (for the Winchesters and for us) will be making some interesting returns, and I'm only two chapters in and I already want to give Sam a big ole hug and tell him everything's going to be okay. I have no idea when it will be ready for posting, so please be patient with me. ~SG**


End file.
